


Rose Colored Glasses

by brilliantbecca94



Series: Scales and Scars [2]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Disney Approved Levels of Romance, Disney Approved Levels of Violence, F/F, F/M, Female-Female Friendships, Friendship, If I'm Missing Anything Let Me Know, Male-Female Friendships, Male-Male Friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 46,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21826702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brilliantbecca94/pseuds/brilliantbecca94
Summary: It's been six months since Ben was crowned King of Auradon.Now, Auradon Prep is abuzz with excitement for Mal's cotillion. Preparations are being made, dresses are being ordered and the future Lady of Court has made a break for it and returned to the Isle.Syrena joins her friends on their journey to find Mal and convince her to return to Auradon, but a rival gang from the Core Four's past has different plans and the Auradon Kids are shown first hand how terrible the Isle really is.The glasses are off and truths are revealed, when the pieces all fall into place, what will the future hold?
Relationships: Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants), Doug/Evie (Disney: Descendants), Jane/Carlos de Vil
Series: Scales and Scars [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559956
Comments: 45
Kudos: 30





	1. And So We Begin

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing except Syrena
> 
> Authors Note:
> 
> I am so incredibly sorry that I've not posted this yet. My road trip vacation took a major toll on me and while I was able to write some in the evenings, I wasn't able to get enough down that I was happy with and so I waited. But I think I've finally gotten it to a point that I'm happy with (thanks to the help from my lovely editor and best friend).
> 
> Shoutouts are going out to Publius1788 who's reviews always make me smile and get me excited to post again and to StephLauren who's sweet review brought me to tears and also reminded me that I needed to start posting the second installment.  
> Thank you both so much!
> 
> Thank you to everyone else who leaves Kudos and Bookmarks, they keep me going so I hope that you all keep leaving them!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal's cotillion is coming up quicker than the girl is ready for and Syrena takes notice.

Six months had passed since King Ben had made his first royal proclamation, bringing four of the most evil of villain’s children to Auradon to be integrated into society with the hopes of reformation, acceptance and a future that no longer separated good from evil but instead paved a road for a new and brighter opportunity.

In the time since the initial integration, the villain children and the Auradonians had taught each other a lot. From the importance of loyalty and family, to the benefits of not surrendering yourself to the outdated belief that you had to follow the path your parents lay out. None of the Descendants, royal or hero, were forced to be anything they didn’t want to be. Evil could become good and good had learned that everyone had a little bit of wicked inside of them, and that was okay.

~

Syrena walked behind Jay and Carlos with Evie and Mal, feeling the excitement bubbling around campus as if it were a living thing.

Girls gossiped about what they were going to wear to cotillion while boys boasted to one another about who they were going to ask.

Not that many of the princely boys had a shot against Jay.

Syrena looked around at the girls the group passed, each one sighing and fawning at the new Captain of the Tourney team.

Jay was living for the attention, flashing each girl a dangerous smile, occasionally gracing one of them with encouraging words or compliments. She was waiting to see which of them would be bold enough to approach him or join the group’s walk to their lockers, but thus far had been disappointed by the meekness of them all.

“Why do you torture them?” Carlos asked with a disapproving frown. “Just pick someone to take to cotillion already.”

Jay scoffed, “I’m going solo, that way, I can dance with all of them.” He waved a blonde girl sitting on one of the stone ledges and Evie nearly died laughing as the girl melted at the gesture. Syrena shook her head and laughed quietly behind her hand. She’d had a small notion to ask Jay to be her ‘just friends’ date to cotillion, because she’d had so much fun dancing with him at Ben’s coronation after party, but his recent skyrocket to popularity since becoming Tourney captain, added to the infamy he’d garnered the previous semester, had negated any possibility for that. The last thing Syrena wanted was to fight off jealous princesses and hateful glares while she was trying to celebrate Mal’s introduction as a Lady of the Court.

Instead, she resigned herself to going alone and dancing with her friends when they weren’t occupied with their actual partners. At least she wouldn’t be completely alone, Carlos would surely keep her company.

“Um, Jay…” Carlos spoke up, halting the group to turn and look to his friend seriously, “if you were gonna ask someone, what’s the best way to go?"

Well that was…unfortunate.

Syrena frowned at the boys in front of her. What was with them going and doing silly things like wanting girlfriends and leaving her to be single alone?

“Listen, all you gotta do,” Jay started seriously, patting Carlos’ shoulder soundly, “is look like me,” he finished with his normal boyish grin.

“Oh, ha-ha,” Carlos scoffed. Jay laughed heartily at his own joke, making Syrena and Evie shake their heads at him while sharing a look.

“Mal!”

The group looked up as one at Jane’s approach. The pretty brunette was holding her tablet and looking harried as she sped towards them, Lonnie following behind at a more relaxed pace.

“Hey, Jane,” Carlos breathed in greeting.

Ah, the shy daughter of Fairy Godmother was the one holding the white-haired boy’s affections. Syrena reconsidered her irritation, eyeing the pair. They’d be cute together.

“Hey,” Jane replied, grey eyes wide and smile bright and effusively aimed at Carlos.

“I was wondering…uh…”

Oh, wait…he wasn’t going to try and ask her out now, was he? Syrena felt her eyes widen, gaze sliding to Evie who was grinning eagerly. How unhelpful.

Carlos glanced at the group over his shoulder, the silence between him and Jane lingering for far too long, but his words were lost with his courage. Jane looked to Lonnie, her confusion offering Carlos an extra moment to gather himself.

“If you liked the…carrot cake last night,” the boy finished lamely.

“I had the pumpkin pie,” Jane replied cheerily, shrugging her shoulders in a dainty gesture of apology.

“Oh, cool. Um, uh-”

Jay clapped the other boy on the shoulder, drawing him away from the awkward exchange with a whispered “smooth”.

Syrena giggled at the boys’ retreating forms. Evie stepped forward, brushing away the unsuccessful encounter with a flip of her blue curls.

“I have an opening for a fitting at 3:00. Who wants it?”

“Me!” Lonnie exclaimed, hand in the air. “Sorry,” she offered as an afterthought, looking at Jane’s partially raised hand and crestfallen expression.

“Perfect,” Evie nodded, “I’ll take you later,” she said to Jane, grabbing Lonnie’s arm and pulling her off towards the dorms. “Okay, well…” Evie’s voice trailed off as she and Lonnie left Mal and Syrena with Jane.

“Mal!” Jane repeated, returning to her earlier purpose. The future Lady of the Court stepped up, acknowledging her friend who was quickly stepping into her role as decorating committee liaison. “I hate to keep bugging you, but the decorating committee needs more answers. So, as much as I hate to, um…” her rushed words trailed off as she stared into the abyss that was Mal’s crystalline blue eyes, “you know, um…”

“Bug me?” Mal offered, arching a delicate blonde brow.

“Right,” Jane tittered nervously.

“Hey Mal, I’ll see you later, yeah? I’ve got that tutoring thing…” Syrena reminded, attempting to excuse herself from the conversation.

Mal’s blue eyes flicked to her, wide with desperation glittering clearly in the icy depths, “just a sec, please?” she implored, arms tightening around her Fairies textbook. Syrena abandoned her plan for retreat with a soft smile and a nod. Mal turned back to Jane. “Yeah, Jane, I would love to. I just have to get to class.” The blonde tried to step away towards Syrena but Jane caught her arm.

“You know, just nod if you like it,” the girl insisted. Mal glanced at Syrena again, who nodded and waved her hand in a ‘go ahead’ gesture.

“Okay,” the Lady in Training signed.

Jane moved closer, tilting her tablet so Mal could see each item she named. To her credit, Jane did flip through each page quickly.

“Chair swags. Entry banner. Twinkle lights. Napkin design. Table bunting,” she named each decoration so quickly that they all started to blend together. Syrena could feel Mal’s silent, overwhelmed tension grow with each swipe of Jane’s stylus. “And you still haven’t picked the party favors yet.”

“Honestly, Jane, whatever you think-” Mal began but Jane cut her off.

“I mean, we can do chains, key charms, pen toppers. I kind of love the pen toppers, but, I mean, we can do all three,” Jane chattered, oblivious to Mal’s rising panic.

In a sudden gust of power that left Syrena’s skin tingling, Mal’s eyes shifted to an ethereal green, the growing feeling that had been swelling in the air snapping like a brittle twig. The thin, emerald encrusted golden band around Syrena’s wrist, a present she’d received from her mother as a child and up until six months ago had considered a pretty trinket, heated against her skin, drawing a sharp, breathy gasp from her lips.

Syrena ignored the minor pain and stepped forward to grasp Mal’s shoulders reassuringly. Jane gasped, delicate hand covering her mouth in surprise. Mal took a few deep breaths, eyes closing. Syrena felt the power seeping back into her friend with each inhale, control returning with each exhale.

“Mal?” Syrena asked cautiously, rubbing the girl’s shoulders soothingly.

The blonde’s eyes opened, rose colored lips stretching into a tight smile. “I say pen toppers,” she answered. The green glowing gaze was gone, the unsettling energy dissipated. Syrena released her friend, taking a step away, raising the arm baring the bracelet up to be cradled in her other hand against her chest. She risked a cautious, but curious glance to the jewelry, the emeralds shone with a fiery, ethereal light like they had when Maleficent had attacked at Ben’s coronation. She quickly covered the band with her palm with plans to examine the mystery at a later and more convenient time.

“Yeah?” Jane asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah,” Mal nodded, smile loosening to a more natural, friendly grin.

“You won’t regret it,” Jane assured, beaming smile returning.

“I can hardly wait to see what your wedding will look like!” Lonnie gushed, coming up to stand behind Jane with Evie following behind her.

Syrena blinked curiously. Were they really already done with the fitting?

“Me, too,” Mal agreed with a sigh, “Wait! What?” She gasped, realizing what the warrior’s daughter had said, her eyes wide as panic engulfed her again. Syrena stepped up, replacing the calming hand on Mal’s shoulder.

“The Royal Cotillion is like getting engaged to be engaged to be engaged,” Jane explained in a tone that suggested this was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I knew it!” Evie gasped blissfully.

“Well, everyone knows it,” Lonnie added with an eye roll and a toothy smile.

“I didn’t know it! How come nobody told me that?” Mal shrieked, voice raising several octaves with each word, the anxiety rushing through her was almost palpable. The earlier energy that had caused the green-eyed slip returning. Syrena squeezed the girl’s shoulder more securely, eyes pleading with the other three to stop speaking immediately. They didn’t. “Is my entire life just planned out in front of me-”

“Hi, Mal,” Ben greeted, stepping up behind his girlfriend. Syrena breathed a sigh of relief, releasing the girl into the care of her beau to stand next to Evie, already planning out when to tell Evie about Mal’s green-eyed mishap and the burst of uncontrolled magical energy she’d nearly unleashed on Jane.

“Hi, Ben,” the girls intoned in unison, matching indulgent smiles curling their lips. Syrena gave them a side eye and a frown. What the heck was wrong with them?

“Hey Ben,” Syrena greeted on her own.

“Oh, oh!” Jane gasped, tugging Ben away from Mal, “Quick moment.”

Mal looked startled as the boy was dragged away from her but Syrena ignored her for the moment to focus on Evie.

“Hey, E, I need to talk to you,” she tried, following the girl to the edge of the stone steps where she and Lonnie were retreating to the courtyard again.

“We can talk during your fitting tonight!” Evie dismissed with a wave of her navy blue, manicured fingers. “Gotta run!” and with that she was gone.

Syrena kicked her foot against the stone, huffing in frustration. She was definitely going to talk to Evie during her fitting. About Mal and about the girl’s recent obliviousness to everything around her that wasn’t cotillion related.

“Mal, you ready to head to class?” Syrena asked, turning back to the still unnerved looking girl once she’d quelled her frustration.

“Uh…” she glanced back at Ben and Jane, huddled together over Jane’s tablet.

Ben turned away from the tablet to look at Mal and the blonde’s face brightened for a fraction of second before he spoke.

“See you later,” he sighed with a shrug.

Clearly whatever Jane needed him for was going to take longer than he’d anticipated.

“Okay,” Mal nodded back. Syrena held out a hand to the forlorn girl, who accepted it gratefully and together they followed Evie and Lonnie into the courtyard, heading towards the east building where the library and classrooms were.

“Mal,” Syrena spoke when the pair were far enough away from Ben and Jane to not have to worry about being overheard. “Are you…” she hesitated, searching for the right words. “How are you doing, with everything?”

“I’m fine,” the girl breezed, straightening her spine and forcing a refined smile on her rose glossed lips.

Syrena pulled her to a stop, tilting her head to meet Mal’s gaze. The girl avoided eye contact. Syrena waited. If she’d learned anything from her past friendship with Audrey, it was that a strong, silent stare could break anyone if it was held long enough.

After a few moments, Mal sighed, closing her eyes and letting her shoulders sag and Syrena knew it had worked. “I have no idea what I’m doing,” she whispered, defeat evident in her dismayed voice.

“How do you mean?” Syrena asked, tugging the girl to sit on a nearby bench. Bad Fairies could wait, so could tutoring. After Mal’s magical meltdown, it was clear the girl needed a break more than she needed a lesson.

“I’m a disaster!” Mal admitted after a few more silent seconds, she lay her head in her hands, shoulders shaking with her stuttered breathing. Syrena wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her into a tight hug. “I can’t do anything right anymore. I constantly feel like I’m drowning, and everyone is expecting me to be somewhere or doing something. I can’t keep track of when I last slept, let alone everything else,” she babbled frantically into Syrena’s shoulder. She spoke so fast that it was difficult to follow everything she was saying, but the gist was clear. She was overwhelmed and exhausted. “And I don’t know what pen toppers are or why anyone would want them as a party favor,” she finished with an agonized cry.

Syrena chuckled at that, resting her cheek on top of Mal’s freshly bleached curls. “Mal, you can say ‘no’ at any point, you know that, right? If you’re feeling overloaded, just tell us and we’ll take over for you. I’m happy to take over with the decorating committee in your place, I’m sure Evie would be glad to as well. Ben will cut your commitments in half if you told him you needed a break. We’re all here for you. We want you to succeed, but more than anything we want you to be happy.”

“I don’t want to disappoint Ben,” Mal lamented.

“Sweetie,” Syrena chided, lifting the girl’s face so she could see the sincerity in Syrena’s eyes, “you could never disappoint Ben. He loves you too much. We all do. All you have to do is say the word and we’ll take over for you.” She wiped gently at the few tears that had slid down Mal’s pale cheeks, feeling the unusual cake of makeup on the girl’s naturally beautiful face. “Now, I think it’s time we head to class. And after, you and Ben can talk about cutting down on the royal tour schedule. Yeah?”

Mal nodded, sniffing and wiping at her eyes to cover the tear tracks on her face. “Yeah.”

They rose together, picking up their discarded books from the bench.

An idea popped into Syrena’s head and she grinned, hand outstretched to Mal, finger crooking, “Last one to the lockers is a poisoned apple,” she goaded, feeling a sense of pride when Mal smirked, a bare hint of the Isle in her peeking through at the challenge.

“You’re on.”

And they took off, running as fast as their heels would let them along the cobblestone path.

They made it to the hall of lockers in record time, both girls doubled over to hold the stitches in their sides as they panted out bubbling laughs.

“I won,” Mal panted triumphantly, the smirk on her face a picture-perfect replica of the girl Syrena had met six months ago, who’d stepped out of the limo for the first time with rebellion in her eyes and plots in her mind.

“Yeah, yeah,” Syrena laughed, mock bitterness in her voice as she shot Mal a playful glare, “I would have won if you hadn’t pushed me Isle Girl,” she teased as her breathing steadied.

“I would never push you!” Mal defended, hand over her chest in exaggerated innocence, “You were too far behind me to reach,” she added with a mischievous grin.

“Rude!” Syrena gasped, rising to her full height and wrapping an arm around her blonde friend’s shoulder. “Feeling better?” she asked, playfulness falling to the wayside.

Mal nodded, smiling sincerely, one thin arm curling around Syrena’s waist to squeeze thankfully. The musical chiming of the bell that signified class change rang through the hall.

“Oh! I’ve got to go! I’ve got a cooking lesson with Mrs. Potts today for Ben and I’s date!”

Syrena giggled, releasing her friend to head to her locker. “When is your date?” she asked lightly, turning the dial on her lock and opening the metal door.

“Thursday,” Mal answered, “I’m running out of time to learn all these recipes.” She let out a frenzied giggle, twirling around on her heel to resume running towards her locker at the other end of the corridor.

“Thursday?” Syrena questioned, leaning around her door, “Mal, today is Thursday!” she called after the girl, but it was clear she was too far away to hear her over the din of students chattering and lockers opening and closing.

Oh dear…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> If anyone knows an easier way to transfer text from a word doc to AO3 without having to go through and do the
> 
> and 
> 
> stuff, while still making it look good, please help your girl out! I love how this chapter looks compared to all of the chapters in the first installment, but I don't know that I can bring myself to do the
> 
> /
> 
> stuff or worse retype everything from the word doc. I will if I have to, but if there's an easier way that I'm missing, please let me know :)


	2. I'm Worried About Mal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Syrena tries to talk to Evie about Mal's magical mishap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing except Syrena :)
> 
> Author's Note:
> 
> Sorry this one is a bit shorter, but I promise it'll be made up for later! 
> 
> Thank you to my two loyal supporters (and thank you for the suggestion about Ulysses on Mac, I'm looking into it!) and anyone else who is reading this, it makes me happy to see the hits rising after just a day.
> 
> Please keep reading, reviewing, commenting, leaving kudos and anything else. It really makes my day!

“Evie, I’m really worried about Mal.”

“Turn Please,” Evie ordered through a mouthful of pins. Syrena did as she was told, taking small half steps on the balls of her feet so as not to step on and potentially tear the delicate fabrics that made up the train of her dress. “How does it feel? Any areas too tight or too loose?” the seamstress questioned, glancing up from where she was pinning some of the hem in the front. 

Syrena twisted her torso in the constricting, strapless corset bodice. She could breath, for the most part. Her range of motion was decent. She tried stretching her arms over her head, fingers pointed to the textured ceiling, aching shoulders popping, sending a pleasant relaxed sensation down her spine.

“Feels good.”

Evie nodded at her, slipping the last pin out of her mouth and into the flimsy fabric at Syrena’s feet. “Have you decided what shoes you’re going to wear?”

“Not yet. But I’ve been eyeing a pair of iridescent golden heels at The Queen’s Closet. I thought they’d look nice with the blue.”

“Light gold or dark gold?” Evie asked absently, moving around the circle platform to spread out the hem, ensuring every pin was perfectly placed.

“Pale gold.”

“Those would look nice.” The blue haired girl stepped back, straightening and stretching her body while she took in the flawlessness of her work. “You look amazing,” she squealed finally, clapping her hands.

Syrena twisted carefully in the form fitting gown, looking over her shoulder at her reflection in the full-length mirror behind her.

Similar to her coronation gown that Evie designed, the body of the dress was ivory with an overlay of powder blue shimmering lace topped off with a train made of leather scales of the same color with a metallic finish. It was, pun intended, a mermaid gown. With a heart shaped bodice that left the pale white ridges of the scars covering her forearms, wrists, shoulders and sides bare to the world.

Even with her flesh exposed, Syrena could only feel excitement and glee rushing through her. There was no hesitation at revealing herself, no second guessing or concern that someone might see her and know her secrets. She didn’t feel the same crippling fear that Audrey had once instilled in her. Looking at her reflection now she felt…extraordinary. Confidence radiated off of her in warm waves as she twirled around the platform, watching in the mirror as the train fanned out around her and laughter, sweet and giddy, bubbled up from her throat.

“Okay, okay,” Evie giggled, hands out to stop the dizzying twirls, “You’ll knock out the pins I just put in!” Her chiding tone was demeaned by the dazzling smile on her painted red lips. She was happy to see her friend acting so light-hearted. “Come on, get changed so we can go eat. I’m starved.”

“Oh please, you just want to go see Doug,” Syrena teased, dragging out the boy’s name as she said it and swatting the blue haired girl playfully. She puckered her lips and made kissing sounds as she moved behind the changing screen to remove her dress and return it to its hanger. The soft fabric of her purple summer dress smacking into her face replaced the jokey sounds with an indignant sputter of disapproval that was echoed by Evie’s wicked laughter.

Evie offered her a hairbrush as she came around the screen, fingers combing unsuccessfully through the mussed locks, Syrena accepted the brush gratefully. She sat herself on Evie’s bed, legs crossed as she moved the bristles through the tangles that had developed during clothing changes and watched the girl begin to straighten up her sewing table.

She’d become a success practically overnight with Evie’s4Hearts and had orders for dresses from almost every girl at Auradon Prep that would be attending cotillion (she even had an order from Chad for a cape and suit). Syrena felt pride swell in her chest every time she thought about her insanely talented friend, or any of the other villain kids for that matter.

Jay had already been on scouting lists for universities because of his skills in Tourney.

Carlos was an actual tech genius who was constantly working on new and complicated mods and codes for his devices and was well on his way to receiving several job offers and scholarships.

And Mal was about to become a Lady of the Court on her way to being Queen of Auradon.

Mal…

“Hey Evie,” she called softly, setting the hairbrush in her lap and picking idly at the loose hairs caught in the bristles.

“Hmm?”

Syrena didn’t look up, she knew Evie hadn’t stopped tidying up. But she continued speaking anyway.

“I’m worried about Mal. I talked to her today and she’s…she’s really overwhelmed with everything that’s going on with cotillion and with Ben and the pre-pre-pre-engagement. And then something really strange happened when she was talking to Jane about decorations-”

“Oh, did she decide what the party favor is going to be yet? I know Jane likes the pen toppers, but I really think the key chains would be cute,” Evie interrupted.

“She decided on the pen toppers, but Evie you’re not listening, when she was talking to Jane she had like a…I don’t know what to call it really but all the sudden there was just this wave of magical energy flooding out of her and her eyes turned super green and-”

“They do that sometimes, it’s normal for Mal. Her mom’s eyes did it too,” Evie interjected again, “Are you ready to head to the cafeteria? I’m so hungry, I’d probably consider eating Dude if I saw him before I saw real food,” the girl tittered at her own joke, moving around her bed to pluck her navy leather jacket from the ottoman and slipping it over her shoulders.

Syrena rose, picking up her own pale green cardigan to drape over her arm and following the girl out the door. “Evie seriously!” She called, trotting at the girl’s side to keep up with her long steps. “Mal is really not okay, I’m worried about her. I’m afraid she might do something rash if we don’t help her out! We should talk to Ben about cutting up her schedule a little more and maybe talk to Jane about coming to one of us first about decorating committee stuff and-”

“Honestly, Syrena,” Evie sighed, stopping at the top of the stairs to face her friend, hands grasping firmly at her bare shoulders. “You’re agonizing about nothing-”

“My bracelet started burning again at the exact same time that Mal had her…whatever it was,” Syrena whisper hissed, catching Evie’s arm and forcing her friend to look at her. “Just like it did when Maleficent attacked.”

This new information seemed to quell Evie’s nonchalant attitude and Syrena felt relieved that she was finally getting through to the girl.

“It’s just a coincidence Rena,” The blue haired girl breezed and Syrena felt her heart constrict. “Mal will be fine. She’s tough, she’ll get through this. Quit worrying so much, you’ll give yourself wrinkles.” She offered a wide, placating grin and a nod and Syrena knew the conversation was over.

Fine. If Evie wasn’t going to be any help, Syrena would go to Ben.

He’d listen.

She hoped.


	3. PBJ's, Secrets And A Run Away Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her failed conversation with Evie, Syrena attempts to rally Ben's help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing except Syrena, but I love her so it's okay.
> 
> Author's Note:
> 
> So StephLauren asked me if I had a face claim for Syrena and I figured it might be interesting for anyone else reading this that, yes, I do. I've been picturing Abigail Cowen (just with greener eyes) and I hope you all agree.
> 
> Please feel free to ask if you have any questions, I'm more than happy to answer :)
> 
> As always, please comment, leave kudos, bookmark and leave feedback. It brightens my soul.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

Ben had been angrily pacing his office since returning from his disaster of a date with Mal. Syrena had been waiting for him there, to tell him about her concerns with Mal in the hopes that he’d be more willing to listen than Evie had been.

Instead, she’d been listening to him rant since he’d stormed in. He was angry and felt betrayed and hurt that Mal had been using magic to make her tasks to becoming a Lady of the Court easier. Syrena could understand some of his feelings, if Mal had told him what she’d told Syrena, they may have been able to work together to make the transition easier on her without the help of spells.

But, Syrena was also getting tired of listening to him repeat himself. She knew for a fact that Ben and Mal hadn’t spent more than a few minutes together since returning from their royal tour of Auradon’s surrounding kingdoms, which had been so full scheduled and swarmed by press that the couple hadn’t gotten much alone time then either. When was she supposed to have talked to him?

“She’s been keeping secrets and lying to me this whole time!” he shouted, hand slamming against his wooden office desk. Syrena flinched against the sound, sensing the small bit of beast that simmered below the surface inside him.

“She was scared, Ben,” Syrena tried to reason, rising from the settee to approach him. She lay a calming hand on his shoulder, as if subconsciously trying to push the beast back down.

“She could have told me. We were supposed to be in this together,” He growled back, slumping down in his high back leather office chair.

“Did you ever ask her how she was feeling?” Syrena shot back, agitation rising within her. “Did you ever once stop to question how she was handling everything? When she dyed her hair blond, did you tell her she looked beautiful or did you tell her you liked her the way she was? Did you ever, for even a millisecond, stop to wonder if she was adjusting to all the changes in her life since your coronation or did you just expect her to suddenly be Audrey?”

The glare Ben gave her was full beast, anger boiling in the pale depths of his eyes. Syrena forced herself to stay put, bracing herself against the desk and the chair to lean in and stare him down.

“She could have-”

“She didn’t think that she could. And even if she did, when would she have had time?” Syrena snapped, nails digging into the supple leather of the chair’s arm and the worn wood of the desk. She was sure one of these would have score marks after this. “You didn’t see how hurt she was when you didn’t walk with her to class today,” she informed him, tone icy. “You didn’t see because you were too focused on whatever little secret you’re planning with Jane.”

She could see the fury in his eyes slowly diminishing with every word she spoke. When he opened his mouth to try and interrupt, she pressed on, not giving him a chance to defend himself against her tirade. She’d listened to him. Now it was time for him to start hearing her.

“She didn’t want to disappoint you Ben, she didn’t want to disappoint anyone so she kept giving and giving and giving until she was so consumed with everything she had to do, was expected to do, that she resorted to the one thing she knows better than anything else.”

He tried to spin the chair away from her, what remained of his rage replaced by sorrow and hurt. She’d struck a chord in him, or several.

Good.

Syrena kept her firm grip on the chair, forcing him back to face her fully with both hands on the arms of the chair to cage him in so he had to face everything that had happened.

“And today, when you found out that she’d been using her magic, you immediately took it as a personal slight toward you. Instead of trying to ask her why she felt the need to resort to magic, you accused and belittled her.”

“She said she felt fake,” Ben sighed heavily after a few moments, slumping forward in the chair to hide his face in his hands. “I tried to tell her that I liked PBJ’s but…I really messed up, didn’t I?”

Syrena knelt down, releasing him from the barrier she’d created to pull his hands away and hold them in his lap. “Yeah, you did,” she whispered, “but it’s a mistake you can fix with a lot of effort, if you’re willing to try.”

She offered him a small, reassuring smile that stretched wider when he returned it.

A knock on the door drew them apart. Syrena rose to stand beside the king, expecting the door to open for Lumiere or Cogsworth but instead a hesitant blue head peaked around the heavy wood.

“Evie! Come on in,” Ben said with a welcoming smile, rising as she stepped over the threshold to close the door behind her with a soft click.

There was no smile on the usually giddy girl’s face. Her makeup was minor, lips their natural pale pink with no additional gloss and desolate eyes lined with only the barest hint of blue eyeliner. Even her hair was flat and heavy, none of its usual curl or shine.

Syrena felt anxiety creeping inside her. Evie never went anywhere without her makeup and hair being done.

Something was wrong.

“Mal’s gone back to the Isle,” Evie breathed, as if she couldn’t believe it herself.

Ben’s friendly smile dropped. Syrena felt her chest tighten, the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding leaving her in a gasp.

Mal had gone back to the Isle.

Mal was gone.

Evie walked across the room, spine stiff and steps hesitant as she approached them. She tried to keep her head up, but her eyes dropped several times during the short trek. Syrena noted, with a sad satisfaction, that her blue-haired friend wouldn’t look at her even as she stood next to her to hand Ben a folded piece of paper.

“Ben,” Evie whispered, her voice caught in her throat as she revealed the thick, golden family ring Ben had given Mal after she’d saved Auradon from her mother at his coronation. Syrena’s heart broke for her friends.

Evie who looked so close to tears, breath shuddering through her as she tried to hold herself together.

Ben who looked so heartbroken as his eyes scanned the letter, lips moving with each word like he couldn’t believe any of it was real.

And Mal, who felt so incredibly lost in Auradon, in her relationships, and in her life that she had returned to a place so desolate and terrible to escape.

The crinkling of the piece of notebook paper in Ben’s hand drew Syrena’s focus. His mouth was agape, words moving too quickly through his brain to be processed and uttered. He was shaking the wadded-up note in his hand at the girls, feet shifting to pace but body unwilling to move, leaving him to sway in place restlessly.

“This is my fault. This is my fault,” he repeated, prodding himself in the chest. “I-I blew it,” he surmised, and Evie’s eyes dropped to the floor.

Syrena felt the shared blame encompass the room. And it wasn’t just coming from the King and the blue haired girl.

“You were right Syrena. She’s been under so much pressure lately and instead of being understanding I just went all Beast on her.”

His hands hit the desk, Evie flinching at the sound.

“I have to go there and apologize.” He stood, facing the girls again, eyes hard with determination. “I have to go there and…and beg her to come back.”

“Ben, you’ll never find her,” Evie countered.

Syrena couldn’t disagree. She and Ben knew nothing about the Isle and even less about Mal’s time there. They would do more harm than good trying to find her.

“I-” Ben started but Evie cut him off, voice raising as she spoke.

“You need to know the Isle and how it works and…” She drew short.

Ben had moved away to stare out the window at the garden, his lips a tight line as he fought back so many different emotions.

She sighed, glancing at Syrena for a split second and then said, “You have to take me with you.”

“Evie-” Syrena started, concern coating the name.

“Yes!” Ben interrupted, turning away from the window.

Syrena shot him a look.

“Uh, are…are you sure?” he amended hesitantly, but his eyes were still alight with renewed determination.

“Yeah,” Evie nodded, her voice catching again as she looked from Ben to Syrena. “She’s my best friend.”

Syrena nodded, seeing the guilt and anguish in her friend’s watery brown eyes.

“And we’ll bring the boys, too,” she added, turning away from them as the gears turned quickly in her mind, thinking through the rapidly developing plan as she spoke. “Because there’s safety in numbers and none of us is really too popular over there right now.”

“Thank you,” Ben breathed, stepping closer to the girl.

“But let’s get two things straight.” Evie turned on them with new resolve.

Ben nodded, ready to agree to any of her terms.

“You have to promise me that I won’t get stuck there again.” The absoluteness of that statement resonated through the room, but Syrena saw the fear in Evie’s eyes.

“I promise,” Ben said without hesitation. Not just because he wanted to retrieve Mal, but because he saw the trepidation in Evie’s eyes as well and understood that she was risking herself and the security Auradon offered her for their relationship.

“What’s the second thing?” Syrena asked and the blue haired girl gave first the king and then the red head a once over, disdain replacing the apprehension.

“And there’s no way you two are going looking like that.”

Ben and Syrena looked at one another, disconcerted by the tone and once over Evie gave them but resolving that, if it meant getting Mal back, they’d do whatever the Isle girl told them to do.


	4. Welcome to the Isle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing except Syrena.
> 
> Author's Note:
> 
> I am so sorry that I haven't updated in forever! I swear, I have not abandoned this story and have no intentions too.
> 
> If anything the comments I keep getting are pushing me harder to check and recheck and triple check my work to ensure absolute perfection before I post anything. So my dearest editor (who has been sick lately so our revision time has been cut down a bit) and I have been working hard on this chapter and we finally have it to a place that we are satisfied with.
> 
> I'm so excited because I've finally started to reach the points in the story that inspired me to start it to begin with and I'm falling more and more in love with Syrena and the other characters every time I open the doc up.
> 
> Thank you to my lovely commenters: StephLauren, Publius1788 and VeraWA. I'm so glad you all are liking the story (and VeraWA I love the pun, I definitely laughed out loud at work while reading it which amused my co-workers to no end <3)
> 
> I hope this extra long chapter makes up for my absence. Enjoy!

Syrena followed behind Evie, Carlos and Ben down the stone stairs of Beast Castle. Jay was in the lead, taking the steps two or three at a time.

“Jay, keys. Remote,” Ben called out each item as he tossed it to the other boy, who caught the small projectiles while managing to hop down the remaining stairs backwards.

“Wait!” Evie shouted, reaching the stone driveway and drawing the group to a stop. “Something’s wrong.”

She approached Ben quickly and jerked down the dark blue beanie over his bangs. The king sighed, relaxing as he realized that there wasn’t really anything wrong.

“There,” She nodded with a tight smile.

“Shotgun!”

Syrena jumped, stumbling down the last two steps as she whipped around to face the person, she hadn’t known was behind her only to find empty space. She missed the varying expressions of shock, concern and confusion on Evie, Ben and Jay’s faces behind her as they saw who had spoken.

“No, Dude. Stay. The Isle is way too dangerous,” Carlos ordered.

Syrena dropped her gaze to her feet, eyes wide as they settled on the tan, wiry furred mutt wearing a red, black and white vest that matched the jacket his owner wore.

“What the heck?” her question was echoed by Evie’s sharp gasp.

“Did he just…” Jay started uncertainly.

“Talk?” Carlos finished, “Yeah. I know. Tell you later,” the white-haired boy told them, shaking his head.

Syrena looked to Evie and Ben, acknowledging that their faces seemed to mimic her own feelings for the situation. Ben’s disturbed concern and Evie’s annoyed confusion resonated within her and mingled with her own uncertain distress.

Jay was the only one who seemed to move past his disbelief and accept Carlos’ lack of explanation with an acquiescent nod before moving to get into the driver’s seat of the limo they were borrowing.

Evie followed him, still staring at Dude with bothered incredulity. Syrena followed her, glancing over her shoulder several times as she made her way to the car door.

“Let’s go,” Ben mumbled doubtfully, eyes remaining on Dude.

“Yeah,” Evie and Syrena answered in unison, sliding into the back seat on either side with Ben following behind Syrena.

“Okay, once we cross the bridge, park under the pier in the old garage. Got it?” Evie asked, leaning into the window separating the passenger area from the driver’s seat as Jay maneuvered the long car down the driveway.

“Got it,” Jay replied, eyes focused ahead.

Syrena watched out the back window as Auradon disappeared into the darkness of night, feeling a knot form in her stomach as they crossed the golden bridge connecting her world to the unknown.

The sky was lightening as they crossed through the barrier, but the sky above them stayed shrouded in clouds as Jay navigated them to the old garage.

“Ben, help me with the tarp,” Carlos ordered as they climbed out of the limo, moving around to a pile of crates and miscellaneous trash to retrieve a large white cover. Together the boys returned to start draping the fabric over the car with Evie and Jay’s help.

Syrena took a few steps away from the group, looking around the alleyway, taking in the dilapidation and clutter that surrounded the area.

“Hey, what’s in here?” she heard Ben ask, his voice slightly echoed. She turned in time to see the three ex-villain kids running toward him and felt herself jogging to join them at the large, exposed metal pipe that Ben was trying to walk into.

“You don’t want to know,” Jay told Ben, grabbing the king’s arm and drawing him away from the tunnel.

Evie turned quickly, nearly running into Syrena as she did.

“Stay close to us,” she ordered, grabbing the red head’s hand and lacing their fingers together for a moment before dropping it as if she’d been scalded.

Syrena felt a soft clench in her heart at the rejection but quashed it with a swift reminder that this was the Isle and Evie, Jay and Carlos couldn’t be the same people here, that they were in Auradon.

“Hey, guys,” Carlos called, drawing the groups attention. “Keep it chill, all right? The last thing we need is our parents figuring out we’re here.”

They all nodded in agreement taking off to begin their search for Mal.

Syrena took in her surroundings the best she could while following the purposeful pace Carlos set for them. The streets they walked down were narrow and damp with garbage strewn around on the rough ground, they were more like alleyways than actual streets. But none of that bothered her as much as the makeshift, lean-to looking shelters made of old wood planks, tarps and threadbare blankets that children, actual small children, were crawling out of. These small shelters were set up in any bit of open space and Syrena could distinctly see inside the structures. They offered no protection from the elements or from other people.

Was that how Carlos, Evie, Jay and Mal had lived?

Syrena didn’t wish to dwell on the thought. Instead she picked up her pace to more closely following Evie and Jay, stamping down on the urge to grab her friends and hide against the swell of chatter around her.

“Hey! Hey, Stop!” Evie shouted, her voice echoing off the brick around them.

The group turned, Jay tugging Syrena’s borrowed leather jacket until she was situated behind and between himself and Carlos. She could still see from her place of protection, if just barely over Jay’s shoulder.

Two small kids had tried to sneak up on the blue haired girl, but Evie had caught them by their wrists, holding them in place even as they squirmed and pulled against her grasp. The smaller child that had come at Evie’s back was clutching the girl’s wallet in their grubby grasp.

The two children didn’t speak out or cry, didn’t beg Evie to let them go or scream for help. They resigned themselves to having been caught and waited for their punishment.

Their small dirt stained faces and tattered clothes made Syrena’s heart constricted in her chest. They were cold and sad and hungry, doing what they could to survive, even if that meant stealing.

Just like her friends would have done.

Evie must have had the same thought as she looked between the two kids and sighed, releasing their tiny wrists and jerking her chin for them to leave. She watched them run away, giggling over their prize as they went, before turning with a sweep of her blue hair to return to their group.

“Ugh, Ben,” she groaned, moving passed them before Syrena or the others could say anything to her.

The king had managed to wander further down the street and away from the protection Jay and Carlos offered.

“Come on,” Jay mumbled, shoving gently at Syrena’s back to keep her in front of him as they chased down the curious boy.

They found him in what Syrena could only assume was a market. There were makeshift stalls set up around the open area with rough wood signs hung above displays of food, potions, and miscellaneous trash to indicate each item in poorly formed white letters.

Ben was stood in the center, looking around awestruck as the group came to a halt at the entrance. There was only one other person in the area, a boy roughly their age.

Leaning against another lean-to wearing a pirate’s hat and a tattered brown coat, the boy looked tired and cold, arms crossed in front of him to retain what little heat his body was generating.

The chill didn’t stop him from looking harsh and intimidating when Ben approached him though, and it definitely didn’t deter him from lunging and growling at Ben like an animal when the king reached out to greet him jovially.

“Ben, stop. Just stop,” Evie demanded, grabbing the boy and pulling him away from the threatening male.

Syrena stayed out of the way, keeping her back to the wall and her eyes trained on her friends. Her fingers twitched and fidgeted with the thin gold bracelet on her wrist, exposed by the quarter sleeves of the white leather jacket she’d borrowed from Evie. She listened to Carlos shouting at the boy who’d growled at Ben only to be pulled away by Jay and then refocused on Evie and Ben.

“Why?” Ben asked the blue haired girl, looking confused and perturbed.

“This isn’t a parade. It’s the Isle,” Evie bit out the explanation, chocolate eyes no longer melted but solid and wild with fear driven agitation and concern for Ben’s safety. “Keep your hands in your pockets unless you’re stealing,” Jay ordered, looking between Syrena and Ben.

“You either slouch or strut,” Carlos added.

“And never, ever smile,” Evie concluded.

“Okay, thanks,” Ben nodded, accepting the rules they’d been given. The edges of his lips started to curve up in an appreciating smile but he stifled the movement before it could fully form.

“No!” Evie snapped.

The king and Syrena jumped at the sharp tone.

“No ‘thank you’s and drop the ‘please’ too.” She shook her head at him, as if all of this should have been obvious.

Syrena moved forward, slipping her hands into the pockets of the leather jacket and slumping her shoulders as best she could. Years of posture training and perfection made the pose feel strange and uncomfortable, but she kept it up, looking to Jay and Carlos for approval that she was following their rules correctly.

Jay snickered at her.

She straightened instantly; spine stiff.

She thought back to her childhood, learning to be a Lady and remembered when her mother would balance books on the top of her red curls and have Syrena walk across rooms until she could make the journey without toppling the stacks.

Floating like a little boat her mother had called it.

She changed tactics, implementing her training in the hopes it would help her appear like she was strutting.

“Just…chill,” Evie told Ben, looking between the king and Syrena, still trying to figure out how to strut.

Let me tell you something you can really trust  
Everybody's got a wicked side  
I know you think that you can never be like us  
Watch and learn so you can get it right

Syrena and Ben watched with rapt interest as Evie, Jay and Carlos demonstrated their version of ‘chill’, swaggering around the market for them to imitate.

Ben tried, stepping forward to stand at Jay’s side with his arms crossed, body leaned back as if supported by an invisible wall and head nodding along to a beat that only he could hear because it definitely wasn’t in time to the one their friends were creating.

Syrena stayed back. She wasn’t ready to try and join in yet. Instead she studied them with the same intense concentration she used when learning a new cheer routine.

She focused most of her attention on Evie, envious of how the girl could use her hair and her hips to speak volumes, without ever having to utter a word.

But Jay and Carlos were helpful models too. While she didn’t think she could copy their more aggressive stances, she thought their facial expressions could be mimicked.

Jay had a hard stare that easily told anyone that considered approaching him how unwise that choice was. But Carlos was almost cocky in the way he grinned, like he was daring someone to try and mess with him. Syrena measured both options, but she wasn’t a quarter as intimidating as Jay was and had absolutely no bulk to back her up.

So she chose to emulate Carlos.

Imbuing the confidence Evie had begun to help cultivate within her, Syrena curled her lips into what she hoped was an arrogant half smirk. She narrowed her eyes, thinking of every devil-may-care look she’d ever seen any of her Isle friends make and willing her bright, doe-like gaze to sharpen in a way that would, hopefully, inspire people to think twice before approaching her.

You need to drag your feet  
You need to nod your head  
You need to lean back  
Slip through the cracks  
You need to not care

When Syrena still didn’t join them, Jay made a point to move closer to her, crowding her personal space until their bodies were nearly touching. A clear test that she was expected to pass.

Syrena took a deep breath, praying that the facial expression she’d nurtured in her mind was the same one that contorted her face.

Emerald glass met solid oak. Her lips curled down into a sneer of contempt as she stared him down, adding a bored hair flip that caught his sharp cheek for emphasis. Her body was a tightly wound spring of tension and uncertainty, but she didn’t let that show as she stared him down, arms crossed under her chest, fingers of one hand twirling the ends of her red curls.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jay backed off smirking proudly at her. He nodded once, jerking his chin towards the others and Syrena stepped off the wall she’d been holding up to join Ben in the lesson.

“Uh, you need to not stare,” Carlos demanded, pulling a similar albeit quicker tactic with Ben by stepping into the king’s personal space and lunging forward threateningly. Ben flinched back, eyes wide and startled. When he tried to take a step away, Jay and Evie caught him and shoved him forward again.

You need a whole lot of help

Syrena noted that Jay had swiped Ben’s wallet in the process and the cheeky boy was waving it in the air proudly.

“You need to not be yourself,” Evie sighed, when she spotted Ben looking dismayed at his wallet in Jay’s hand while the boy rifled through its contents.

In a new attempt at being ‘chill’, Ben snatched the wallet back from Jay clumsily, looking wounded and offended when Jay laughed at him. Carlos and Syrena joined in with Jay, and Evie shoved the two apart quickly, snapping her fingers to regain Ben’s attention.

You wanna be cool?  
Let me show you how  
Need to break the rules  
I can show you how

Ben looked eager as Evie leaned into him, following at her heels as she twirled away. With a solid stomp of her boots against the pavement, she slid both hands down her front enticingly, ending the move with her hip cocked and a gloved hand braced on the jut. Her face tilted over her shoulder just enough to watch the other two boys follow her movements.

The king tried to do the same rhythmic moves as the other two males but was so completely out of sync that Carlos had to smack Ben’s arm to get the boy to focus again.

Syrena could do it though and felt confident enough in her own ability to replicate the easy movements that she stepped in line with Evie, smiling arrogantly and jerking her chin when the blue haired girl looked at her with impressed shock.

Finally, Audrey forcing her to be a part of Auradon Prep’s cheer squad was paying off. Syrena sent up a silent thank you to whatever power had kept her on the team as she mimicked the routine the three native islanders performed.

And once you catch this feeling  
And once you catch this feeling  
You'll be chillin', chillin', oh  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')

The red head was so into the easy feeling she got when she danced that she didn’t notice Ben falling behind again until she and Evie turned in unison with Jay and Carlos to face the king. Syrena giggled at him, losing the small edge of cool that she’d garnered with the princess-y sound. It was too hard not to laugh at the boy who was so out of his element.

Chillin' like a villain (hey)  
Chillin' like a, chillin' like a (hey), villain

The group moved through the streets again, but the dirty dilapidation didn’t bother Syrena as much as it had before. There was a distinct character to the Isle that she was starting to take notice of.

The signs and ads for goods and shops that had been painted and pasted to the brick walls of buildings were dark and strange, but they were well crafted and humorous, though Syrena wasn’t positive that the latter was intentional.

She particularly enjoyed the one that was selling free range crow’s feet.

You draw attention when you act like that

It seemed Ben did not find as much interest in the Isle as he did the Islanders themselves.

While Syrena and the others continued along the street, Ben found himself distracted by a street peddler offering wares that were more than likely stolen.

Evie was the quickest to part from the group and retrieve the king. Snatching Ben by the arm and whipping him away from the sketchy salesman with a well-crafted sneer over her shoulder to send the creep scampering away.

Let us teach you how to disappear  
You look like you would lose a fight to an alley cat  
Gotta be wrong to get it right 'round here

Syrena watched Jay, Evie and Carlos rise onto a small wooden fence, balancing flawlessly on the narrow boards.

Evie teased Ben from atop the fence, throwing fake punches towards his face and then smiling at him playfully and rising with Jay and Carlos in unison.

You need to watch your back  
You need to creep around  
You need to slide real smooth

Syrena leapt up onto the bars with the others, falling into step beside Carlos, rocking to the beat that they set. The textured soles of her borrowed boots caught against the wood just enough to give her the traction she needed to keep her balance as she moved across the beam.

She felt the words Evie spoke and was beginning to understand the lessons she was being taught.

And she liked it.

She liked the feeling of control she had over herself as she stepped, no strutted, along the fence top. She adored the assurance that radiated from her as she began to feel more comfortable in the clothing Evie had picked for her on this endeavor. And she loved more than anything the feeling of completeness she felt swell inside her, surrounded by her friends.

Metal scraping against pavement drew Syrena’s eyes to Ben, stumbling over his own feet as a worn bucket bounced and rolled across the ground.

To her left, Carlos, Evie and Jay leapt backwards off the fence, landing with cat-like grace.

“Don't make a sound,” the trio intoned, fingers to their lips as they slid between the rickety wooden beams to come out on the other side, closer to their noisy companion. Syrena stayed on the fence, crouching down to be eyelevel with the others.

And if you want it, take it  
And if you can't take it, break it  
And if you care about your health

Jay stayed closer to the fence than the other two when they came through. With a stylized turn, he faced Syrena, the charming, boyish grin almost permanently etched on his face was wide and toothy now.

Syrena smiled back, rising from her crouch to offer Jay a low, playful curtsey as she put her hands out to pantomime holding a skirt.

Straightening, she kicked one leg off the fence to cross her ankles over one another, legs twisted, and body prepared to unravel itself in a pirouette across the beam.

It would have been a beautiful and impressive move…

…had her boot heel not caught the edge of the fence rail, stuttering her turn and forcing her off-balance and off the fence with an undignified yowl of surprise.

The long-haired ex-thief caught her before she hit the pavement.

“Seriously, you need to not be yourself,” the boy laughed, steadying Syrena on her feet.

She was blushing and she knew he knew it, but he didn’t point it out and that made her feel less uncomfortable.

Some of her cocky confidence had diminished, but not all of it. She still followed the group when Evie flicked her dainty wrists in summons.

They perched themselves on the fence, seated this time.

“You wanna be cool?” Evie sang, smirking first at Ben on her right and then Syrena on her left. The red head nodded emphatically.

Let me show you how

They snapped their fingers in unison, shoulders hunched as they swayed left to right. Syrena noted that Ben seemed to have gained no rhythm as he just nodded along with them, instead of actually participating.

Still, he looked excitable and engrossed in what was happening.

You don't break the rules  
I can show you how

Evie took pity and helped Ben, without actually looking at him.

Together they crossed their arms, heads bobbing to the beat and once again, Syrena felt her own surety rising as she kicked out her leg with the others and crossed it over her knee. The shimmering scale fabric of her leggings glittered in the misty streetlight overhead, revealed only briefly as the slits in the otherwise black leather shifted.

And once you catch this feeling

With a pleased smile and a shimmy of her shoulders, Evie leapt down from the fence again, skirt swishing around her textured leggings and curls swirling around her face. Her hands ran down her front again, over the top of her extended thigh.

And once you catch this feeling

Another toss of downy blue curls and the remaining four were summoned to join her.

Syrena followed Evie’s movements, emulating as much of the sass oozing from the other girl as she possibly could. She grinned as Ben started to catch on, falling into step with a new ease as they moved on down the pathway.

You'll be chillin', chillin', oh  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a

“I really wanna be bad a lot,” Ben started, halting the group in a circle around him so he could eye each of the former Isle kids.

Syrena watched the king carefully.

He chest bumped Jay first, then circled around behind Evie, his hand sliding across her shoulders slowly before he settled with both arms wrapped around Carlos and Evie’s shoulders.

“And I'm giving it my best shot, but it's hard being what I'm not,” he finished lamely, looking to Evie with the sad puppy look he’d perfected.

She nodded at him; her apple red lips pouted in sympathy.

“Well if you don't, you're gonna get us caught,” Carlos informed, patting Ben on the chest.

“He's right, we gotta stay low-key,” Evie agreed. “Now show us how bad you can be,” she urged Ben with a jerk of her chin.

With a smirk, Ben raised his hand to situate Evie’s sunglasses on his face.

“Like this?” he asked, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the remote to the bridge that Jay had hidden away in his pocket.

“Like this?” he asked again with a laugh, letting the long-haired boy snatch the device back.

Finally, out of his sleeve, the king extracted Carlos’ red cellphone, handing it over to the boy with a cocky tilt of the sunglasses. The white-haired boy frowned down at the phone, confusion etched on his face. Syrena giggled, clapping her hands together excitedly. Evie nodded her approval.

“Oh yeah, I think I got this,” Ben gloated, handing off the blue haired girl’s glasses to her. “Let's go, I'm ready to rock this!” he continued, rocking back and forth. When the four tried to step forward with him, the king held his arms out to block them, shocking their educators.

“And I ain't gonna thank you for your help. I think I found the worse in myself,” Ben gloated, dropping his arms so that they could all move forward.

Evie and Jay caught Syrena’s arms with theirs, drawing her forward and into the linked arm line the five of them created.

Their steps were together, legs crossing over one another as they moved down the alley.

You wanna be cool?  
Let me show you how  
You need to break the rules  
I can show you how  
And once you catch this feeling  
And once you catch this feeling  
You'll be chillin', chillin', oh  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')  
Chillin' like a villain

Syrena and the others stopped at the mouth of the alley, laughing together and holding one another up, unaware that Ben continued on, oblivious to the world around him until he jittered and hummed himself into someone’s path.

“Hey, man,” the unknown boy snapped, until he looked up and saw Ben. “Hey!” he repeated, tone lighter and a smile on his chiseled face.

Syrena was the first to catch up to Ben this time, but the others weren’t far behind. They surrounded him quickly; each of them assuming a protective and borderline threatening expression, though this new boy seemed unphased.

“Hey, I know you!” he cried excitedly.

Ben ducked his head, hiding his face behind the collar of his jacket, “Uh, no. Don’t know you, either, man,” the king dismissed, deepening his voice a little.

Syrena felt the gentle but urgent tug on one of the straps of her leather jacket and looked up to meet Jay’s eyes as he maneuvered her behind him surreptitiously. She tried to wordlessly ask him what he was doing, but he wasn’t paying attention to her anymore. His gaze was fixed on the tall boy before them.

“Uh, yeah, you do,” the boy denied, friendly smile faltering.

Syrena examined this boy from over Jay’s shoulder, standing on her tip toes to get a better look.

He was brawny.

Up until this moment Syrena had thought Jay was the most muscled boy she’d ever see. But this oversized brute before them made a mockery of the son of Jafar.

And he was handsome.

She could see golden blond hair peeking out from under a bandanna, the mismatched sword belts crisscrossing his chest over a sleeveless doublet emphasized his finely crafted biceps and pectorals and the deep cleft of his chin was something she’d only read about in sappy novels and…

Fairytales.

Syrena’s gaze roved over the extra-large boy again and realization hit her light a bolt of lightning. You’ve got to be kidding me…

“Come on, man. Really? Huh?” the boy urged. “Dude, I’ll give you a hint. My dad is quick, slick and his neck…” the boy grinned again, wiggling his fingers up and down to indicate his own throat.

Syrena looked to Jay and then to Ben, hoping that the king would catch on too. She saw Ben’s eyes widen just a hair and her chest heaved in silent relief.

“Is incredibly thick,” the son of Gaston finished, looking so incredibly pleased with himself.

He’s dumber than Belle says his father was. But he seems harmless enough Syrena decided, looking over the innocent seeming but overly muscular boy.

When no one acknowledged his parentage, the boy continued to urge them on until his eyes drifted up to something behind them and his smile faltered again. He raised a gloved hand and pointed, drawing their gazes to a graffiti covered poster of Mal and Ben.

His pointed finger moved from the poster to Ben and then back again as his brain processed the information and then his whole face lit up as the lightbulb turned on.

Goodness he’s slow…

“Oh! You’re King Ben!” His obvious statement was made with so much enthusiasm, Syrena almost felt bad when Evie and Carlos urged Ben away quickly.

Jay looped his finger through the strap at the waist of Syrena’s jacket again, dragging her with him as he followed the others, sparing one last disappointed head shake to the young Gaston.

“Yeah, yeah, you totally are King Ben,” the boy said, even as they left him alone. “And you’re Jay, Carlos, Evie…”

Syrena watched over her shoulder as he pointed at each of their backs, feeling relieved that he didn’t name her, not that he’d know who she was. She wasn’t from the Isle and she wasn’t important enough to be in the news like Ben or Mal.

“Oh, Uma’s gonna love this!” she heard the boy exclaim with an exuberant giggle as Jay pulled her around a corner and they disappeared from the boy’s sight.

What or who was an Uma?


	5. A Chip in the Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own Syrena. Nothing else.
> 
> Author's Note:
> 
> Happy Christmas Eve to all and thank you for continuing to read.
> 
> To VeraWA, thank you so much for both of your wonderful comments. I'm so glad you enjoyed 'Chillin Like a Villain' and that it came across the way that I was hoping it would and I'm thrilled that you like how I've depicted the relationship between Jay and Syrena, because they are definitely a favorite dynamic of mine.
> 
> And to Publius1788, thank you for your consistent comments, I love them and I'm glad that you are still reading.
> 
> To everyone else who has left Kudos and Bookmarks and who stays silent but keeps coming back, I thank you all.
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys this chapter because we are FINALLY to the point where we are meeting a very important character (I think most everyone can guess who that person is ;) ) so without further ado, chapter 5.

Syrena felt her eyes droop again and forced herself to push away from the brick wall she’d been using as a pillow. Shaking her head to rid herself of the creeping exhaustion that was trying to take over, she rubbed her eyes roughly and then sighed when she remembered she had more eye make-up on than usual. The side of her pointer finger was covered in a shimmering smudge of black and purple. She didn’t want to imagine what her face looked like.

They’d been waiting outside Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos’ old hideout for what felt like forever.

Ben was inside, hopefully apologizing to Mal and convincing her to return to Auradon with them.

Evie, Jay and Carlos were crowded around the lair’s metal and concrete staircase. Evie looked anxiously upwards, nervously chewing on her lower lip.

Syrena wondered how the other girl managed to keep her apple red lipstick so flawless and not smeared across her teeth.

To Evie’s left, Carlos had sat himself on what looked like an old coffee table but was so covered in miscellaneous clutter on top of a tattered, dingy sheet, Syrena wasn’t sure. He too looked worried, but less so than Evie. Every so often he’d glance over his shoulder as if he heard something no one else did. He was jittery, hands crossed between his legs, one clasped over the other to keep them from fidgeting.

Across from them, Jay appeared to be the most collected of all of them. Arms crossed over his chest, he leaned casually against one of the concrete pillars that supported the stairs. He almost looked like he could have been dozing, but Syrena knew he wasn’t. She could see the tension in his shoulders, could feel his sharp oak colored eyes on her every so often. He was watching everything that was happening around them, silent but vigilant.

They’d been like this since their run in with Gaston’s son. The mood shifted from edgy but enlivened to the somber apprehension that encompassed them now.

And no one had really spoken more than a handful of words since they’d left the eager but dimwitted blonde who’d recognized Ben.

She looked around the desolate alley way from her perch on an old, plywood cable reel that creaked every time she shifted her weight. She could feel the wood splinters poking into the backs of her thighs through her tight leggings, but it was the cleanest place to sit so she accepted the minor nuisance.

Her body slumped again, head falling back to rest against the cool wall behind her. Exhaustion was starting to creep back. Her eyes slid shut, drowning out the misty blinking of the large multicolored fairy lights someone had strung up along the side of the hideout’s building.

The day had been long, the night had been longer, and she had completely lost all sense of time since they’d crossed the bridge at early dawn.

There was no way to tell on the Isle, since the sky above was so clouded with thick, dark smog it rendered the sun invisible. And her phone had died well before they’d even left Auradon, so she couldn’t check the time there either.

All of this left her internal clock disoriented and the fatigue weighing on her mind wasn’t helping.

Still, she couldn’t let herself drift off to sleep. Not here.

She wouldn’t put herself at risk. Couldn’t rely on Jay, Carlos and Evie to protect her, even though she knew they would.

This was the Isle. This was the place where the common belief was ‘everybody for themselves’. She wouldn’t be caught off-guard over something as trivial as sleep deprivation. But when they returned to Auradon, she was sleeping until cotillion.

She dared someone to try to stop her.

Jerking upright again, Syrena shifted to the edge of the spool, letting the peeling wooden shards prick her skin a little more deeply and rubbed at her eye once before stopping with a soft groan.

Darn it, make-up!

Looking around at her friends, she frowned at the silence blanketing them, trying to decide how to break it.

“Who is Uma?” she finally asked, thoughts returning to the giddy blond boy she’d watched run away from the market and the delighted tone of his voice as he’d said the name.

Three sets of eyes shot her way, burning her with the harsh inquiry each intense stare met her with.

“Where’d you hear that name?” Evie snapped.

Syrena flinched at her friend’s tone.

She’d decided a while ago that she didn’t like Isle Evie half so much as she did the Evie that she had befriended in Auradon. Her friend was so different here, angrier and more on edge. She seemed just as likely to slap Syrena as she was to hug her.

Evie seemed to take notice of the red head’s unease and softened her gaze, moving to sit next to Syrena. The worn wood groaned in protest and there was a brief flash of fear that the weather ravaged thing would break under them, but it didn’t so neither girl moved.

“I’m sorry,” the blue haired girl whispered, so quiet Syrena didn’t think even Jay or Carlos could hear her. “I don’t like it here. I’m scared and…this is what I’ve always had to be until we came to Auradon.”

Syrena shrugged halfheartedly, she didn’t want to say that it was okay and validate Evie’s harsh behavior, because her feelings were hurt and she was feeling petulant, but she didn’t blame the girl for resorting to an attitude and persona that had kept her alive for so long.

“Where did you hear the name Uma?” Evie asked again, calmer now.

Jay and Carlos still looked uneasy and defensive, but they didn’t speak.

“That guy that we ran into, Gaston’s son-”

“Gil,” Jay supplied.

“Sure,” Syrena nodded, “Gil. He said ‘Uma’s gonna love this’ when you were pulling Ben and I away. I watched him run off before we turned the corner.”

“That’s…really not good,” Carlos sighed, head tilting back to hit the brick wall behind him a few times, as if brain damage were a more appealing prospect than whoever Uma was.

“Why not?” Syrena asked, eyes darting between her three companions.

“Uma is…” Evie started, mouth opening and closing like she was trying to speak but couldn’t seem to find the right words. She glanced to Jay for help.

“She’s kinda like Mal…except not…at all…” Jay tried.

“She scary,” Carlos surmised, “and her crew is made up of a bunch of scoundrels and whack-jobs. Mal and her used to be close, but then Mal got mad and poured a bucket of shrimp on her head and called her Shrimpy, the name caught on and Uma hasn’t let it go since.”

“She’s got a vendetta against Mal for it and she’ll do pretty much anything to get even or get ahead,” Jay added.

“We went up against them a few times, over turf. They’re cheats, but we always came out on top,” Evie added proudly.

“So… her knowing that Ben is here on the Isle means?” Syrena asked slowly, trying to think ‘evil’ and come to a conclusion on her own. She wanted to ask why Mal would pour a bucket of shrimp on someone but thought that was a better question for when they were all back in Auradon.

“That we need to get Mal and get out of here ASAP.”

The creaking and grinding of the mechanical metal gate blocking the staircase up to the hideout’s entrance drew the groups attention. As one, Evie and Syrena rose from their seat and rushed to the landing with Carlos and Jay, eyes venturing up expectantly.

But only Ben appeared.

“So?” Evie asked when the king was near the bottom.

“Where’s Mal?” Syrena added, still looking up to the top of the stairs, as if her friend would appear there if she stared hard enough.

“She’s not coming back,” Ben sighed, dejected and hurt.

Syrena’s heart clenched in her chest. The rattling of the cage gate sliding closed echoed through her, physical proof that Mal wasn’t coming down from her hideout.

That she wasn’t returning to Auradon with them.

“What?” Evie hissed, following Ben as he stomped away from the lair and the girl hiding within. “I’ll talk to her.”

Syrena trailed behind Evie. Her earlier exhaustion was gone now, replaced with despondency at the thought of leaving Mal on the Isle.

If Evie couldn’t convince their friend to stay, would that mean Syrena would lose Evie too? And Jay and Carlos?

Dread gripped her.

She couldn’t lose the girl who’d become her best friend.

Evie had given her so much in the short time they’d known each other. They did practically everything together now. Told each other everything, gossiped together.

Who would she meet every Thursday after cheer squad practice for tea, macrons and studying?

Ben hated the Mad for Tea Café. It was too zany for him. But Evie loved going there with Syrena. She said it reminded her of all the good parts of the Isle, what little of those there were. She couldn’t imagine going there without the blue haired girl at her side.

It was selfish, she knew somewhere deep down, because Evie had been Mal’s best friend way before Syrena had come into the picture. But still, Evie had changed her for the better. She’d boosted Syrena’s confidence to new levels just by knowing and accepting Syrena and every form she took.

She couldn’t lose that.

“M?” Evie asked into a small metal horn mounted against one of the concrete staircase columns. “Mal, it’s Evie. Let me just talk to you for a second,” the blue haired girl pleaded anxiously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as the nervous energy building inside her tried to escape.

Syrena moved closer, wrapping an arm around Evie’s slim middle, ignoring the tiny bite of the decorative spikes sewn into the jacket against her skin. Evie didn’t pull away. Instead, she tilted her head to rest momentarily on Syrena’s, their red and blue curls shifting and twisting together against their shoulders.

“Mal, come on…” Evie repeated, defeat evident in her voice.

“Go away!” Mal shouted back, her voice garbled as it came through the pipe to echo against the brick walls of the alley.

“Let’s give her a couple of hours to cool off,” Jay suggested, tugging Evie’s arm and drawing the upset girl away from the speaker.

He didn’t hug her, but Syrena caught the gentle squeeze of her hand that he offered instead. Evie squeezed back, nodding once, lip caught between her teeth as she fought back tears.

“Guys!” Carlos called, “Where’s Ben?” he asked when they approached. He looked down the alley and then back at Evie and Jay, face etched with chaotic distress.

“He wouldn’t have gone far,” Syrena murmured, silently hoping she wasn’t wrong in thinking that. She took a few steps forward, moving past the group and back down the alley the way they’d come.

Maybe he’d thought about heading back to the limo but got lost.

The Isle was like a giant maze, she’d realized as they’d made their way to the hideout.

A shadow moved in front of her at the same time she heard Evie call out and relief washed through her.

“Ben?”

“Ben!” Evie exclaimed, sounding agitated and worried.

Taking another step forward, ready to smack some sense into her friend for wandering off, Syrena squinted at the shadow, lips parting and lecture ready when a flash of steel caught her attention.

Not the steel of a sword, no. The nearly glowing entity was just a bit higher than eye-level with her and something about it washed the relief away like a bucket of ice water.

This isn’t Ben.

“Ben, don’t scare us like that,” Evie sighed.

Syrena took a step back, retreating from the not-Ben to return to the safety of her friends.

“Don’t scare you?” a high, thick brogue parroted.

Syrena slipped back further, panic welling inside her as a tall, dark haired boy emerged.

His steel eyes tracked her, even though he kept his head down as he approached. She rounded the concrete column of the staircase to stand next to Jay, gaze unwavering from the newcomer as he stopped in front of them. Their gazes met for a split second and her spine tingled, the fine hairs on her arms and the back of her neck standing on end.

Something was very, very wrong.

“But that’s my specialty,” the boy finished, the misty glow of the string lights glinting off straight white teeth revealed by a wide, deceivingly pleasant grin as he looked between Jay, Evie and Carlos.

“Harry,” Evie gasped, taking an involuntary step back, her spine straight and stiff, fingerless glove covered hands gripped tight on her waist.

Jay stepped forward, placing himself firmly between the girls and the steel eyed boy.

“What did you do with Ben?” the ex-thief demanded.

Harry turned to point behind him and Syrena noted, with a twinge of morbid curiosity, that his left hand was actually a shiny metal hook.

“Oh, uh, we nicked him,” the boy explained, eyes widening frenziedly, “Mm-hmm. Yeah.” He nodded animatedly, as if it were completely normal for him to go around kidnapping people.

Given the lack of reaction from her friends, Syrena had an unnerved realization that that might be the case.

“And if you want to see him again,” he continued, looking up to the hideout above them and gesturing vaguely with his hand, “have Mal come to the Chip Shoppe tonight, alone. Uma wants a little visit.” he ended, popping the ‘p’s in his words for emphasis.

His eyes drifted to her again, for another fleeting moment, and his grin became a roguish smirk that Syrena wasn’t sure what to make of and that was gone before she could really believe it was there.

She refrained from shaking her head against the barrage of oddities that this ‘Harry’ was displaying. His tone was so light and bordering giggly, almost a melodic singsong, that the threat behind it was nearly indiscernible.

But it was there none the less.

It was apparent in the way he kept his hook pointed at Carlos, level with the white-haired boy’s sternum even though his eyes were focused on Jay. It showed in the presence of the sword dangling from his belt, ready to be drawn if need be. And it appeared in his cat-ate-the-canary smile.

Syrena had seen sharks before. Had swam with them through dark blue-black waters with little fear. Had even watched them in a feeding frenzy once and had been less scared then, a child in bloody water, than she was now, a young woman facing a swaggering boy-pirate.

“Aw, Jay,” Harry crooned, drawing Syrena’s attention back to the here-and-now to see the boy feign pouting, head tilting to one side and then the other like a dog. “Seems like you’ve lost your touch.”

“Hey!” Jay growled, lunging forward ready to prove Harry wrong.

“Jay!” Evie snapped, gripping his shoulder to keep him in place.

Harry laughed, a maniacal, high pitched sound that crawled up Syrena’s spine the same way nails raking across a chalk board did.

She watched him turn to Carlos next, barking loudly, his teeth snapping together in the smaller boy’s face. Then he turned on his heel and strolled away, whistling as he went.

They watched him go until they were sure he wasn’t going to turn back around.

Then Jay started scaling the side of the hideout.

It was time to get Mal and get serious.

Carlos had clearly been right. If Harry was any indication, Uma’s whole crew was madder than a hatter and Ben was trapped in their crazed clutches.


	6. The New Plan: Save Ben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I only own Syrena :)
> 
> Authors Note:
> 
> HAPPY 2020 Everyone!
> 
> I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday :)
> 
> I'm so excited for these next few chapters, so I hope that you all like reading them as much as I like writing them.
> 
> As always: Thank you so much to my reviewers, VeraWA, Publius1788 and StephLauren. I'm so glad you three are still enjoying the story, every time I get a notification that I have a new comment it sends me through the roof with excitement, each one means so much to me :)

“If you guys never would have brought him here, this never would have happened.”

Mal was furious.

Syrena hadn’t ever seen the girl so stern and angry looking before and it made her want to shrink away as her pale glare passed over the four of them, guilty of losing the King of Auradon to the wild pirate crew led by Mal’s enemy.

She wasn’t alone in the sentiment. To her right Jay stood with shoulders slumped and eyes downcast, his booted foot scuffing against the concrete floor idly.

To her left Carlos, much like Jay, wouldn’t raise his eyes to look at Mal’s disappointed and frightening face.

Evie was the only one who dared look at their friend, hands resting on her hips and red lips pursed. She shared their guilt but knew they didn’t have time for this lecture if they wanted Ben returned safely.

“What were you thinking?” the renewed purple haired girl shouted at them, her voice echoed around the graffiti covered concrete walls.

“He was gonna come with or without us,” Evie explained, hands coming off her hips to splay in front of her, displaying invisible evidence to defend her case. “We just wanted to protect him.”

“Yeah, and we completely blew it, guys,” Carlos argued, stepping into the line of fire to face Syrena, Evie and Jay.

He wasn’t wrong. They’d come to protect Ben while he pleaded for forgiveness from Mal and convinced her to return to Auradon with them.

Instead, he’d been rejected by Mal, had wandered off to mope and got himself kidnapped by wannabe pirates.

They were the worst bodyguards on the face of the planet.

“Okay!” Jay shouted, usual tough-guy stance coming back. “Okay. So, what are we gonna do?”

“How do we save Ben?” Syrena added.

She supported Jay’s need to move past this moment of guilt-tripping and arguing over who was right or wrong to get to the point at hand. The king needed saving and they were stuck on an Isle filled with adults who wouldn’t help them. They were on their own.

No magic.

No Fairy Godmother.

No backup.

“We,” Mal barked, motioning an angry fist between herself and them, “are not doing anything.” She stomped down the stairs to stand level with them. “This is between Uma and me. And she’s a punk. And guess what? Now I have to go get him.”

“We can help you! You don’t have to this alone,” Syrena argued, though as she said it, her mind recalled the deep accent of the hook wielding Ben-napper telling them that, per Uma’s orders, Mal was in fact supposed to go to the ‘Chip Shoppe’ alone.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Carlos repeated, hand out in an urge to calm the furious girl. “Mal, you’re still gonna have to go through Harry Hook and his wharf rats.”

A shiver ripped up Syrena’s spine at the mention of the wild-eyed hook wielder.

She hadn’t had time yet to examine what exactly it was about the boy that set her so on edge and that made her even more unnerved by him. She knew it had something to do with his eyes, that much had been clear from the first moment she’d seen them. But there was more to it than that and it infuriated her that she couldn’t pinpoint it without an internal search and review.

“Yeah, you’re gonna need us,” Jay supported Carlos.

Mal shook her head, orchid locks shifting against the artfully torn leather vest she wore.

“Uma said to come alone.”

“And you’re going to listen to her?” Syrena snapped. She hadn’t meant for the words to escape and the sharp look Mal shot her, tinged with curiosity but harsh none-the-less, almost sent her scurrying for a place to hide.

But she was tired.

Tired of hiding when things got uncomfortable.

Tired of letting everyone else make decisions and just obediently going along with what she was told.

And she was just tired in general. She hadn’t slept in at least twenty-four hours and it was starting to show, especially given all the spikes of adrenalin her body was having to process and then come down from.

Syrena felt Jay’s eyes on her, concern in the oak depths. She shook her head at him, arms crossing under her chest, fingers twitching against the golden band on her wrist in quick nervous movements.

“She’s right Mal, come on…” Evie pleaded, chocolate eyes soft and desperate.

Syrena appreciated the support.

Mal’s gaze shot over all of them, looking unamused by the new camaraderie.

“She said to come alone,” Carlos repeated, turning to face Evie, eyes dark and serious.

It irritated the red head that he kept playing both fields. If his plan was to be neutral, he was failing miserably.

“I know one thing,” he continued, turning so he was fully facing them, arms outstretched at his sides in weary surrender. “I’m not going anywhere.” He dropped down heavily onto the beat-up leather sofa to emphasis his point.

Jay sighed; arms thrown up in annoyance before he too acquiesced to the hard look their purple haired friend was maintaining.

“We’ll be here when you get back.”

Syrena dropped too, sinking into the cool patched leather of the worn sofa and pulling her legs up to rest her chin on her knees.

If the others weren’t going to fight Mal, she didn’t see why she should. Not right then anyway. This was their world; they knew Uma and Syrena didn’t.

She felt her eyelids blink heavily and forced herself to watch Mal's exit, taking in the final cold look Mal offered Evie before turning her back on them and leaving the hideout.

Evie’s wounded eyes and wobbly lower lip would have called Syrena to comfort her friend were she not so drained. Instead, she closed her eyes and fell into a light sleep, dreaming that everything would be better when she awoke again.

-

“There’s no way we’re gonna give Uma the wand. We can’t just let her destroy Auradon!” Evie protested, matching the fury and outrage felt around the room.

Mal had returned from her meeting with Uma about ten minutes ago, waking Syrena with enraged shouting and tantrum-like throwing and kicking objects throughout the hideout.

Carlos and Evie had gotten her calm enough to explain what had happened and Syrena had, wisely, kept her mouth shut during the retelling of the diplomatic arm-wrestling match for Ben’s release.

The terms had been simple enough. If Mal had won, Ben would be returned and they could leave the Isle, no fuss, no muss.

But since Uma had won, Mal now had to go back to Auradon to steal Fairy Godmother’s wand, again, to trade for the safe return of the king.

And they’d made this incredibly important decision with an arm-wrestling match!

Syrena couldn’t believe how foolish that was. Especially since she’d been told several times that Uma and her band of pirates were a bunch of cheats.

Why would she risk something as critical as Ben’s safety in such a marginal win scenario?

“Uma doesn’t get the wand, then Ben is toast, guys,” Carlos sighed, running his gloved hands over his tired eyes.

The short hour they’d gotten of rest had not been as relaxing as they’d hoped. The constant worry over Ben’s safety keeping their minds too keyed for actual slumber and the results were beginning to show on everyone.

Mal was pacing on the other side of the room, hands raised one fist in the other to crack her knuckles and then gnaw at her finger in nervous thought, trying to formulate a workable plan through the haze of anger clouding her mind.

“Right, so, we’re gonna give Uma, of all people, the wand,” Evie scoffed, tossing her blue curls over her shoulder with a huff.

“Do we have another choice?” Jay queried, looking between Evie and Carlos, genuine curiosity in his dark eyes. He clearly wasn’t a fan of the plan, but they had to think about Ben.

“We can’t just leave Ben with them.” Syrena added her two cents, her voice mingling with the the others until their arguments became a jumble of raised voices and disagreements.

The common theme was getting Ben back, but no one could agree on how to go against the pirate’s threat without endangering the king further.

“Wait! You guys!” Mal shouted, voice echoing over the other four until she had all eyes on her. “Your 3D printer,” the purple haired girl almost laughed, hands outstretched towards Carlos.

“A phony wand?” Carlos questioned. Following Mal’s line of thought with ease, back straightening as the cogs in his brain started to move with ideas.

“Yes!” she hissed in excitement.

“In my sleep,” the white-haired boy boasted.

Syrena had to admit it was a genius plan.

“And the second Uma tests it, she’ll know it’s a fake.”

Evie’s protest drew Carlos and Syrena’s gaze to her, dismay evident on their faces.

She was right. Given everything Uma had riding on her plan, there was no way she was going to just accept the wand at Mal’s word. She’d test it and they’d be caught in an instant.

“Well, okay,” Mal drawled, clearly not thrilled with the blue haired girl’s disruption of the plan with something so trivial as logic. “So, then we just get Ben out really fast. We need some kind of diversion.”

Silence fell as everyone tried to think of ideas.

Syrena was at a loss. She had no idea what constituted as a diversion in this situation. In Auradon, she’d always been taught to go to an adult if there was a problem and she needed help. But this was the Isle. The adults here were villains who would leap at the prospects a captive king offered them. Uma was bad enough. They didn’t need anyone else getting involved.

“Smoke bombs!” Jay exclaimed.

“That’s perfect!” Evie gushed. “I’ll get the chemicals I need from Lady Tremaine’s place. That could work.”

It was clear this wasn’t the first time they’d made smoke bombs and Syrena was certain that, at this point in her Isle journey, she shouldn’t be surprised by their illicit knowledge anymore. But still they managed to come up with new and shocking things every time she let her guard down.

“Oh, and sick hair, by the way,” Evie complimented, crossing the room to toy with Mal’s orchid colored locks.

The heels of her boots clicked against the concrete floor and Syrena followed the steps feeling disoriented by the sudden topic and attitude change. But, she guessed, Evie was always easily distracted by sound fashion choices and Mal’s new hair certainly fit the bill.

“Evil Stepmom seriously stepped up her game.”

Mal preened under the attention, relaxing into the comfortable routine with her best friend.

“Okay, do you want to know something?” she asked, fingering and fluffing the layers to show the different dimensions of the color. “Dizzy did this.”

“Little Dizzy?” Evie gasped. “Shut up!”

Syrena glanced over at Jay and Carlos, appreciating the fact that they also seemed confused by the new topic.

“Um, who’s Dizzy?” the red head whispered to the boys, moving to follow Jay as he joined Carlos in the kitchenette of the hideout.

Carlos, sitting backwards in the red vinyl dining chair with his back propped against a makeshift table, glanced up to Jay leaning with his forearms on the tabletop, then looked back to the voluble girls.

The only answer she received before was a mumbled “you’ll probably like her.”

Carlos cleared his throat obnoxiously.

“Hello?” he called drawing two sets of clearly exasperated eyes his direction.

In unison, Syrena, Jay and Carlos held up a hand, wordlessly asking the girls if they’d forgotten the rather large issue they were facing.

Mal and Evie sighed resolutely, nodding as their focus returned.

“Right,” Evie breathed, turning with a flip of her royal blue curls, lips pursed in renewed seriousness.

Mal clapped her hands together, nodding again.

“Carlos, Jay, you guys meet us at Pirates Bay no later than noon,” she reminded, as if they’d been the ones to get distracted. Cloud grey eyes narrowed on them. “And, you guys, losing is not an option.”

The boys straightened, jaws tight as they jerked their chins in agreement.

“Cause we’re rotten…”

“To the core,” the four reforming villain kids replied in unison.

Syrena looked to each of them, feeling the resolve blanketing the room, and nodded too. She wasn’t rotten to the core and she wasn’t certain she was prepared for the fight to come, but with the solidity of the four around her Syrena was ready to do whatever she had to in order to help them get Ben back.


	7. Changing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I only own Syrena <3
> 
> Author's Note:
> 
> This is an extra long chapter to make up for how long it took to update. My wonderful editor had some disagreements with word and word won for a couple of days. But she's back in business now and I'm actually really happy with this chapter, so I hope you all like it too.
> 
> And as always, thank you to my loyal reviewers. I've gotten very, very attached to hearing your thoughts after I post a chapter. Thank you StephLauren, VeraWa and Publius1788.
> 
> Enjoy!

Curl Up and Dye was not so terrifying as it sounded or as the brick exterior made it look from outside under the dismal gray light that seemed to hover over everything on the Isle.

Instead, the inside was…

Well, it was a complete disaster.

The moment Syrena stepped through the heavy plastic hanging from the door frame, her eyes were darting around the salon. There was so much happening, she couldn’t find just one thing to focus on.

The walls and floors, including the plastic they’d walked through, were splattered with different neon colors, nail polish and hair dyes if she guessed correctly, in every shade possible.

Tucked into the corner to the left of the door sat the front grate of an antique car, headlights shining brightly through more colorful splashes, with an old-fashioned cash register perched on top.

On another wall, a large golden framed portrait of a severe looking black and white cat hung behind what looked like a hair dryer. A small plaque at the bottom read Lucifer.

She was making her way towards a collection of broken mirrors hanging on a colorful pillar on the other side of the cash register when Evie caught her sleeve.

“Shh,” she breathed, finger pressed to her lips as she looked between Mal and Syrena.

“Okay,” Mal agreed with silent chuckle, lips curling into an amused smile.

The red head nodded too when Evie’s eyes drifted back to her.

They tiptoed together through the salon, Evie dropping her purse soundlessly onto a table and flipping her hair over her shoulders before prancing on the balls of her feet towards the smaller red head obliviously making jewelry and humming along to a song playing in her head.

Mal followed, coming around the other side of the table until both girls had their arms draped over the back of the chair the little girl sat in.

Syrena watched from afar, grinning as the girl took a double take, her eyes widening as she recognized who had snuck up on her.

“Evie?” she asked cautiously and then leapt up from her seat, small arms engulfing the blue haired girl in a tight hug. “Evie! You came back!” she squealed in surprised delight.

The cuteness overload tugged at Syrena’s heartstrings and she felt her grin split into a wider smile, tears prickling her eyes at the emotional scene.

She was definitely still tired because there was nothing tear worthy in this moment, but there they were trying to escape nonetheless as she listened to the little girl rattle off a million questions at lightning speed.

“Is it all just like we imagined? Do they really have closets you can walk into? Have you been to a real swimming pool? What does ice cream taste like?”

“It’s cold and it’s sweet and if you eat it too fast, it gives you a headache,” Evie interrupted, tapping the girl’s nose and smiling indulgently.

Syrena felt the tears more urgently as her brain processed each question.

She didn’t know the petite girl with the flame colored pigtail buns, but she didn’t need to. She knew without a doubt that every little girl deserved to know what ice cream, of all things, tasted like. Or to have the opportunity to swim in a pool, not that that was something Syrena herself enjoyed, but everyone should be able to decide for themselves.

Her mind drifted back to the fragile lean-tos she’d seen upon her arrival to the Isle. She thought of the two kids who’d tried to rob Evie of her wallet as they walked through the streets. Did Ben’s dad know about the conditions of the Isle? Had he ever stepped foot on the island after he created it?

Did he care?

That thought haunted Syrena. She’d never really thought about the Isle before Ben’s proclamation and only understood it as it had been taught to her: a safety precaution meant to maintain peace in Auradon.

But she’d been naïve to think that the floating prison was anything more than that. It had been ignorant and selfish to never for a second think about what life was like for the children of the villains the Isle had been created to contain.

She remembered the donation drives held a few times a year where Auradon residents gathered unused and unwanted items from their homes and closets to be sent by barge to the Isle. Could recall with perfect clarity going through her and Audrey’s closets to pick out their most hated items to "dispose of with the rest of the garbage" the pink loving princess’s voice echoed in her head.

Why had she been so blind?

Why did it take coming to the Isle to have these revelations?

“Dizzy, I want you to meet someone,” Evie’s voice drew Syrena out of her mind and back to the salon, her eyes refocusing on her friend approaching with the little girl. “This is Syrena, the daughter of Ariel and Eric.”

Dizzy’s eyes widened, mouth dropping open with a quiet gasp.

“Are you really a real princess?” the girl asked dreamily.

“I guess I am,” Syrena nodded, bending down a little to be eye level with the bewildered girl. “But I’ve never really thought of myself as one.”

“Do you have a closet you can walk into?”

Syrena nodded again, smiling through the darkness plaguing her thoughts as the girl’s bright, innocent curiosity started to illuminate something she couldn’t name yet. “I do at my home. But the dorms at Auradon Prep just have these really big wardrobes.”

“Wow!” Dizzy squealed again.

She was taken aback when the excitable girl launched herself forward, thin arms wrapping around Syrena in the same tight hug she’d greeted Evie with.

Green eyes widened, looking uneasily over the shorter girl’s head to her giggling friends as she returned the embrace.

“Oh!” the girl gasped suddenly, moving away from the hug to return to Evie.

Syrena was positive she was going to get whiplash just trying to keep up with Dizzy’s short attention span.

“I saved your sketch book for you!”

“You did?” Evie whispered, stunned.

The excitable girl rushed across the salon, plucking a blue book from behind the register.

Syrena saw Evie, hand over her heart and melted chocolate eyes glittering with unshed tears of appreciation and joy, share a look with Mal looking affectionately smug. It was a look only the purple haired girl could pull off.

“Dizzy!” Evie cried, voice catching on the name as the girl returned with the precious book. “Oh, my gosh.”

Syrena joined the group to watch over Evie’s shoulder.

Her friend stroked the bedazzled cover lovingly before opening the book with a careful but excited reverence to reveal a beautifully sketched model, that looked very similar to Evie, in an artful blue and yellow dress.

“I made this dress out of an old curtain and safety pins,” the designer reminisced.

Mal chuckled.

“It reminds me of the dress you made for Mal when she met Jasmine,” Dizzy said, grinning between Evie and Syrena.

The latter touched the girl’s shoulder, squeezing encouragingly as she noticed that the old sketch did look very similar to the one Mal had worn on her royal debut tour. Her other arm wrapped around Evie’s shoulders giving another gentle squeeze, one of thanks that she was allowed to be a part of the moment with them.

Evie touched her wrist, thumb rubbing over the scars exposed between the quarter sleeve of her jacket and the leather fingerless half gloves she wore.

“I spilled curry all over that,” Mal mumbled fondly, eyes drifting up as if she could see the embarrassing moment replaying in her mind.

“You did,” Evie agreed with a smile.

“Yeah, I saw that,” Dizzy added.

The four of them laughed together at the memory.

“You’re totally right, Dizzy. This was totally the inspiration for that,” the blue haired fashionista affirmed, manicured fingers stroking lovingly over the sketch.

“I knew it!” Dizzy exclaimed, wiggling between Syrena and Evie to join in the hug Syrena hadn’t realized they were still sharing. “You can take the girl out of the Isle, but you can’t take the Isle out of the girl.”

Syrena felt her friend tense as she moved her gloved hand from Syrena’s wrist to Dizzy’s hand. Her smile faltering, Evie closed the old sketchbook and reached to grab a few pieces of what looked like broken jewelry and tattered hair accessories strewn across the table’s surface.

“Is this…too much or is this fabulous?” she asked, holding up a ruby red heart with a small golden crown against a multi wired bracelet.

“Hand me the glue gun!” Dizzy demanded in answer, one hand out expectantly and the other braced on her tiny hip.

Syrena and Evie tittered at the girl’s enthusiasm and sass. Syrena tapping Evie’s hand with the handle of the gun to be passed to the crafty girl. She moved around the table, taking the seat on the opposite side to watch the pair work.

-

It hadn’t taken long for Evie and Dizzy to finish crafting the bracelet together and then Mal had needed help making the smoke bombs that they’d come to the salon for.

Somewhere in between the two events, Syrena had been lured into the salon chair by a tutting Dizzy.

“What happened to your make up?” she asked and Syrena didn’t really have a good answer.

Dizzy sat her down and set to work fixing the mess Syrena had made of her face.

Her eyes closed and fingers fidgeting nervously with her bracelet, she let the granddaughter of Cinderella’s wicked stepmother wipe her face clean of day old make up and begin to reapply it with the skill and precision of a mad scientist.

“Your hair is really pretty,” Dizzy commented.

Syrena risked peeking one eye open and smiled, reaching out to tug one of the spiked pieces poking out from one of the girl’s buns.

“Yours too.”

Dizzy giggled girlishly before tapping Syrena’s nose with a brush, a gentle reminder that the older girl was supposed to be keeping her eyes closed.

“Okay, you can look now.”

Syrena’s eyes blinked open against the harsh light of the salon infiltrating the darkness they’d become accustomed to. Once they were adjusted, she was on her feet leaning into one of the broken mirrors to investigate the stranger that was staring back at her.

She had no words. Her fingers ghosted across her cheeks, eyes tracking the mirror girl as she did the same ensuring it was in fact her reflection she was seeing.

Her emerald eyes were lined in subtle brown and shadowed in heavy black. Her eyelashes looked more like spiders’ legs, long black and spindly, and brushed her cheeks when she blinked. Her full lips were a deep wine red with the barest hit of shine to them.

The young stylist had even managed to tame her tangled locks into voluminous beach waves that hung and swayed across her back.

There had to be magic on the Isle, because there was no way that girl in the mirror was Syrena. She was too dark, too edgy, too…

“Beautiful,” she finally whispered, catching Dizzy’s anxious reflection in the broken glass. She turned away from her duplicate to face the small girl, leaning down to catch her in a tight hug.

“Thank you, Dizzy,” she whispered again and felt the girl’s arms wrap around her in return.

“That makes five smoke bombs,” Evie announced, drawing Syrena to attention.

She drew away from the smaller girl with another small hug and approached her friends, curiosity enticing her closer to the makeshift chemistry lab.

“Okay. I think that’s enough, right?” Mal asked, taking the carefully tied latex glove filled with chemicals from Evie to put in her bag.

“Yeah,” they agreed in unison.

Syrena watched Mal carefully arrange the smoke bombs in her backpack, ensuring they were all secure and unlikely to explode on the way to Pirates Bay.

“Okay, how amazing would this look with my shredded tee and my heart purse?” Evie asked, drawing Mal and Syrena’s attention to the ruby heart studded tiara headband she was holding over her head.

Her melted chocolate eyes were glittering with glee and her brightly painted lips were parted in a wide smile.

It was the happiest Syrena had seen the girl since she’d come into Ben’s office and told them about Mal’s disappearance. An event that seemed so long ago now, but had only been…

Syrena wasn’t actually sure how long it had been. Two days maybe? She wasn’t sure anymore. If it had been, that meant that cotillion was almost upon them. That thought was like a bucket of ice water being poured over her and she had to stop herself from thinking about what was to come when they returned to Auradon after they rescued Ben.

“Very amazing,” Mal conceded, nodding approvingly at the Dizzy Original.

Syrena nodded too, forcing a smile on her face. It was a beautiful accessory, like everything she’d seen of Dizzy’s, but she wasn’t feeling quite so lighthearted as thoughts of what was to come tried to cloud her mind.

“Take it!” Dizzy exclaimed, rising from her craft table. “Take a bunch!”

She began quickly collecting pieces she wanted to offer to Evie from across her workstation, grinning wildly.

“Oh, Dizzy!” Evie gushed excitedly.

Even with the darkness creeping into her thoughts, Syrena couldn’t help the genuine giggle that escaped her as she watched Evie open her purse for Dizzy to fill with sparkling accessories. The blue haired girl’s eyes were wide and bordering on manic as she watched the glittering pile drop into her bag.

“Thank you,” she murmured to the excitable girl.

“It would make me so happy to know that you were wearing something of mine in Auradon. Almost like being there myself,” the girl raved dreamily.

The tug at her heart that Syrena felt earlier returned as she met Mal and Evie’s sad eyes over the girl’s head.

Evie pulled the girl into her arms, squeezing tight.

Syrena suspected it was more to hide her sadness from the girl than anything else.

“I really wish I could take you with me,” Evie whispered.

“At least one of us had her dream come true, right?” Dizzy answered good-naturedly.

She was so pure, almost too much so for someone who’d grown up on the Isle. Syrena felt her tears stinging her eyes but forced them back, unwilling to let them fall and ruin the makeup Dizzy had worked so hard to perfect.

“E, we got to go,” Mal interrupted as she zipped her backpack and carefully slung it over her shoulder.

“Okay,” Evie nodded, glancing to Syrena who nodded as well. She moved to pull Dizzy into a goodbye hug which the girl returned, before skipping away to return to her table and flip through Evie’s old sketchbook.

The three girls stopped at the entrance, looking back at the small ginger haired girl, each sharing matching discouraged expressions.

“She’s gonna be okay,” Mal offered, though she didn’t look like she wanted to leave any more than Evie did.

“Yeah,” Evie nodded. Her lips pursed to hold back tears that threatened to fall. “But she could be so much more.”

Mal patted Evie’s hand gently, urging Evie through the heavy, dye splattered plastic hangings and back onto the grayscale street of the Isle.

Syrena hoped beyond hope that it wouldn’t be the last time she’d see the wonderfully sweet girl but felt like it was naïve of her to believe anything else.

And she was done being naïve.

It was time to save Ben and return home and it was time for change.

She caught her reflection in one of the broken mirrors as she followed her friends out of the salon. Her dark doppelgänger stared back at her with fierce determination glittering within hard emerald depths.

It was definitely time for change.

-

On the walk back to the hideout, Syrena found herself falling further and further behind her friends. Though she was not so far that she was left vulnerable to anyone with unsavory purpose.

Not that it seemed like anyone out on the streets was paying much attention to her now that she really looked more like she belonged, but she wasn’t risking anything.

She found little interest in their reminiscing and giggling conversations. Her mind was too focused on the returning dark cloud of thought that had been plaguing her since her arrival on the Isle. Only now, there was a more distinct face to it all.

Dizzy.

The little ginger haired granddaughter of Cinderella’s wicked stepmother, as Evie had put it, could be so much more if she were given the chance. But that chance wouldn’t ever present itself on the Isle. And Dizzy hadn’t done anything to warrant being stuck on that floating prison, she was just a sweet kid that wanted to create beautiful things.

So why did she have to stay?

Why did any of the villain kids have to stay?

Syrena imagined that the majority of the crimes committed on the Isle were done for survival and not just for the joy of being cruel. If they were given the opportunities Auradon could offer them, they would thrive.

But she was being naïve again.

There’d be no assurance that any new villain kids brought to Auradon would forgo all evil and just magically be good. Even Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos had come to Auradon with plans of releasing evil and taking over the world.

Their plans had changed though.

They’d changed.

Would it be so impossible to consider that others could do the same?

Ben’s original plan had been to slowly integrate the children of villains into Auradon, but the plan had been laid to the side as his duties as king became all encompassing. But his duty was to the Isle as well.

They were also his people.

Maybe if there was a new council appointed by the king…

Syrena’s eyes drifted to Evie, her royal blue curls bouncing as she and Mal walked, steps synced and giggles echoing back to her.

Evie had been devastated to leave Dizzy. And the way she’d looked at the kids who’d stolen her wallet…Evie would be a perfect liaison between the Isle and Auradon. Together, they could help Ben renew the proclamation and reinstate the program to bring new villain kids to Auradon Prep.

Starting with Dizzy Tremaine.

The pair stopped at the end of the alleyway and Syrena paused too, still keeping a distance as she noted that the girls looked engaged in a private and emotional conversation.

“I really thought that’s what you and Ben had,” Evie whispered to Mal, but Syrena could hear her in the quiet of the empty street. “Do you want to talk about it?”

The orchid haired girl shook her head.

“Nah. I’m not coming back, Evie.”

Syrena felt her heart clench at the resignation she heard in Mal’s voice. It burned in her chest at the devastated look that dropped over Evie’s face. Her chocolate brown eyes were wet again, new tears stinging the corners.

Somewhere inside her, Syrena realized that she hadn’t seriously considered a scenario where Mal didn’t return with them. She’d had the terrifying realization that if Mal stayed, Syrena could potentially lose Evie and Jay as well, but she’d never actually believed that there wouldn’t be a happily ever after to this story. She wanted to kick herself.

Was that really all she was?

A prissy princess who could only see the world in bright, beautiful colors where everything was sunshine and happiness while remaining completely oblivious to the harsh realities of the world around her?

She didn’t want to believe it, but after everything she’d seen in the last forty-eight hours, she wasn’t sure she could continue to lie to herself.

“If you’re staying, then I’m staying too.”

Evie’s quiet announcement ripped through Syrena like a thousand knives. Tears pricked her eyes, hot and burning as she forced them back.

But she didn’t feel sad.

It was something else scorching her from the inside out. Something she’d never felt to that degree before and it scared her.

She was angry. No, that wasn’t the right word for it. Anger was an emotion she was familiar with after years of being Audrey’s whipping girl.

There was something heavier, something primal and vicious that she hated feeling inside her.

She was furious. Livid.

“Evie, you are an Auradon girl,” Mal affirmed. “And I am and will always be, the girl from the Isle.”

Syrena wanted to scream at those words. At the self-doubt she heard in Mal’s soft voice that she had felt for so many years herself. The antipathy of something that couldn’t be changed, no matter how hard you tried.

She wanted to grab Mal by the shoulders and shake her until she saw reason.

Auradon loved Mal.

Ben loved Mal.

Evie, Jay, Carlos, Syrena…Everyone loved Mal.

No one cared that she was from the Isle, it didn’t matter because they could all see past that. They could see the girl beneath who just wanted to be the best she could be, who wanted to do the best for Auradon and for her friends and for Ben.

So why couldn’t Mal see it too?

The creaking gears of the gate rising in front of the staircase echoed against the brick walls of the alley. Mal and Evie ran up the stairs but Syrena remained where she was until they were out of sight.

She moved to sit on the rickety, clutter covered coffee table underneath the staircase, pulling her knees to her chest as she listened to her friends above her.

Tears pricked hot and incessant at her eyes and she did her best to hold them back.

She was so tired of crying.

A bitter laugh escaped her.

She was tired of a lot of things lately. The trip to the Isle had awoken so much inside her and her head was ready to explode with the revelations and with that new emotion.

She was still angry and she knew that it was directed at Mal, though that was a misplacement. She had no right to be upset with her friend and could, on some level, understand why Mal had fled in the first place.

Mal’s words were on repeat, echoing through Syrena’s brain like a broken record.

“I am and will always be the girl from the Isle.”

The self-doubt.

How many times had Syrena felt that in herself before Evie had helped her see otherwise?

Mal was so afraid that she would do something wrong, that she would somehow taint the goodness of Ben and of Auradon, that she had felt there was no other solution than to flee.

Syrena had done the same. She hid herself in Audrey’s shadow, always afraid that someone would see her scars because she hadn’t wanted to have to answer questions. So instead of embracing that she was of two worlds, she rejected one completely.

Her fingers traced the pale scalloped ridges along her wrist and forearm. She sniffed back the tears still trying to escape, but it was getting harder to keep them at bay. She could feel the ire starting to cool inside her, replacing itself with bitter sadness as memories of old fears and self-loathing flickered through her mind. She could feel it simmering just under the surface though, and decided she wanted to keep it.

Rage was something the Isle understood, keeping hers at the ready may come in handy.

What she didn’t want was the desolation that was trying to take its place but as she heard Mal and Evie from within the hideout, the dam broke.

Head in her hands, Syrena felt the first tear drop from her eyes, landing on her forearm and sliding down. Leaving a trail of bee-like stinging in its wake as the first scale started to stab through her skin.

The second tear to fall helped it along, so did the third and fourth. Continuing on until her wrist was dotted with opalescent scales, edged in blood as her delicate flesh tried to knit itself back together around the razor like protrusions.

Still, that pain felt better than the one in her heart, so she didn’t bother to pluck them out yet. Instead, she let the tears flow, mixing with stray drops of blood to paint her pale skin.

She would wear the salty pink streaks into battle like war paint.


	8. It's Goin Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I only claim rights to Syrena. I own nothing else.
> 
> Author's Note:
> 
> Hello all!
> 
> This has been one of my absolute favorite chapters to write, so I hope all of you enjoy it.
> 
> I'm going to preface, though, and say that this chapter has not been edited as my dearest editor is ill and hasn't had the energy to focus on anything, least of all grammar and spelling errors.
> 
> Once she's feeling well again, I'll update the chapter with the edited version. But I really wanted to go ahead and get it out there.
> 
> This is also, I'm fairly certain, the first chapter where I've made a fairly large change to a song sequence/movie scene. So I hope no one is too upset about it, I promise I've done it for several important reasons.
> 
> As always, I'd like to give a special shout out to my faithful commenters: VeraWA and StephLauren. I'm am always so elated when I see the notification of a new comment and I'm so happy that you both have so much to say about the story. It makes me work harder on each chapter and often times brings new perspective that I feel helps me develop Syrena and the other characters better. So thank you both for your support :)
> 
> And now, without further ado, the story!

Syrena watched in anxious anticipation as Jay steered the limo into the alley.

Evie and Mal stood with her, their nervous energies billowing off of them in thick waves. Silence hung around them, they hadn’t spoken much since Mal had made her decision to stay on the Isle after they rescued Ben.

Evie had tried, ever the perky unionizer, but her attempts at conversation had been met with single-word answers and disinterested half-smiles.

Eventually, she’d given up trying and then it was time to meet up with the others and confront Uma.

Syrena hadn’t wanted to talk when she’d joined Evie and Mal in the hideout. Hadn’t wanted to risk saying something with the lingering ire simmering inside her, she knew she’d regret anything that came out of her mouth, knew that it would be unnecessarily venomous and cruel.

If this was her last time seeing Mal, she didn’t want to leave it on a sour note.

They may not have been as close as Syrena and Evie, but she still considered Mal a good friend and Mal hadn’t done any of this to be spiteful. She’d thought she was doing what was right for Ben and for Auradon.

The doors to the limo opened, Jay slid out from the driver’s seat, but Carlos was emerging from the back. Syrena looked back to the shadowed figure in the passenger seat, curious to know who they were.

“Lonnie?” she breathed as the daughter of Mulan climbed from the vehicle. Her eyes moved to Evie and Mal, gauging their shock and confusion.

At least she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been prepared for the other girl’s sudden appearance.

“I’ll grab the swords,” Jay told her over the roof of the car. Lonnie nodded at him and then turned to rush and join the three other girls.

“Lonnie!” They greeted in unison. Their confusion mingling with the relief at having another skilled person on their side evident in their tones.

“I made them bring me,” she answered their unspoken question, embracing Mal.

“Oh, I’m so glad,” Mal breathed as Lonnie moved to hug Evie.

“Hi. Welcome to the Isle.”

“It’s good to see you,” Syrena added, wrapping an arm around Lonnie’s other side and squeezing gently as the warrior’s daughter stepped away from Evie.

“Thanks.” Her dark eyes moved from each face, her excited smile helping ease the tension surrounding them. “Wow Rena, you look…”

Syrena bowed her head, smiling shyly at the complimentary tone in her friend’s voice.

“Thanks.”

Four sets of eyes rose to watch Jay, Carlos, and Dude approach. Syrena noted with renewed apprehension, the heavy looking black bag in Jay’s hand. The glint of the expertly shined hilts of Swords and Shields practice swords reflected with the dim light of the alley.

“Ooh, here, let me see,” Mal urged, hand out and fingers twitching impatiently.

For a second, Syrena thought the orchid haired girl was looking for one of the blades but remembered the original purpose for the boys’ return to Auradon as Carlos handed over the phony wand.

Mal nodded in approval, turning the replica over in her hands to inspect every angle.

“Wow, what a beauty.”

Syrena and Evie agreed, and the anxiety eased again. This could work.

It would work.

It had to.

“It’s noon,” Jay announced to the group.

“Alright.” Mal looked at each of her friend’s faces in turn. “Are we ready?”

“Yeah,” they intoned.

Evie lifted the tattered backpack with the smoke bombs carefully hidden within.

“Let’s do this.”

Mal led the way through the exposed pipe Syrena distinctly remembered was notated as somewhere they didn’t want to go when she and Ben had first arrived on the Isle. Evie followed their purpled haired leader, Jay close behind her.

Syrena took a deep breath, fingers stroking over the scalloped ridges along her wrist, feeling the crust of dried blood come away with the movement, and stepped into the pipe after Jay. It was time.

Coming through the pipe on the other side was nearly blinding. Syrena blinked against the brightness of Pirate’s Bay. She didn’t think she’d seen this much sunlight since they came to the Isle.

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks below the dock did little to comfort her. She was surrounded by water and it was an almost paralyzing realization. She hadn’t thought about the wannabe pirates actually having a ship, let alone one that was in the strait.

She glanced over the rail of the dock, watching the angry churn of dark water and felt a small pang of sadness that even the ocean surrounding the Isle was ugly and savage-looking compared to the calm lapping of bright, crystalline blue waves in Auradon.

Carlos caught her hesitation and urged her forward with a jerk of his chin.

“Chill,” he whispered to her and she nodded in understanding.

She followed the line of her friends down the dock and closer to the wrecked ship filled with the bustling movements of crew members preparing for battle. She kept her stride slow and deliberate, hands in her pockets and back straight. But for all the strength in her stance, her eyes revealed the truth. They flickered around cautious and alert, keeping each of her friends in her line of sight while also searching the deck of the ship for any sign of Ben.

“Hey, Guys!” The deep, excited voice of Gaston’s son echoed around the wharf. “They’re here!”

Syrena tracked him to one of the high platforms jutting from one of the masts as the crew’s raucous cries rose around the ship. She followed him as he lept onto a net of rope and slid down to the deck and then she spotted Ben.

His wrists and ankles were bound, leaving him to take small careful steps so as not to fall. The steel-eyed boy in the ragged red tailcoat was behind him, shoving him forward and giggling madly whenever he had to catch the binds around Ben’s wrist to keep the king upright.

She quickened her pace down the dock, squeezing past Jay to level herself with Mal and subtly direct the orchid haired girl’s attention to their king.

She got to Mal just as Harry shoved Ben into the care of another pirate and turned to address their group.

“Welcome!” he called, arms outstretched, silver hook glittering in the fleeting strips of sunlight piercing through the thick dark clouds perpetually looming in the sky.

“Finally!” another voice echoed with a laugh that was part girlish giggle and part wicked cackle.

Syrena wasn’t sure what she’d envisioned Uma looked like, but this girl with the waist-length braids of pale blue, white and black dancing excitedly in place was not it. Following Mal along the curving dock, Syrena kept her eyes trained on the girl-captain.

She was small and slim but didn’t let her stature hold her back. It was clear that Uma was the captain of this ship, Syrena was sure she would have been able to distinguish the hierarchy even if she hadn’t been forewarned.

“Let’s get this party started,” Uma began as Mal stepped up to the end of the gangway. “I swear I’m cold-hearted. There’s no negotiation, I’m not here for debatin’.”

Syrena paced the length of the dock, her eyes darting between Mal and Uma and the plank Harry shoved Ben down.

Even at this distance, she could see the fear in Ben’s eyes as he stumbled across the narrow board. The ties around his ankles were making it difficult enough to maintain his balance, but the taunting nudges from Harry and the strange sense of vertigo he was no doubt experiencing looking over the side of the plank, couldn’t possibly be helping the situation.

“You need some motivation? Just look at Ben’s face and ask yourself how long you think I’ll remain patient.”

Syrena looked back to Mal, unable to keep her nerves in check if she kept watching Ben struggle to remain on the board. But the orchid haired girl’s passive, bored expression didn’t ease the redhead at all.

Short of inspecting her nails, Mal couldn’t look any more disinterested in Uma’s monologue and Syrena felt her simmering anger starting to bubble over.

What was she doing? Why was she waiting?

If she’d just give Uma the fake wand, they could be done and off this retched Isle and Ben would be safe.

She glanced over her shoulder to see Evie and Jay further back on the pier but was disheartened to see that they were just as passive as Mal.

“I’ll throw him overboard and let him swim with killer sharks. You either hand over the wand, or he’ll be ripped apart.”

Panic gripped Syrena as Harry pushed Ben forward again until the toes of the king’s boots were hovering in the air over the water. His only support was Harry’s precarious grip on the ropes around Ben’s wrist, which he held with his hook. Even less secure.

This wild-eyed, unpredictable lunatic was going to end up accidentally throwing Ben into the water if he kept this up.

Her emerald gaze shifted to Uma again. She was so smug, standing with her arms crossed over her chest, hip jutted, and lips curled in a mocking sneer of triumph and condemnation.

A lightbulb went off in Syrena’s head then. She’d seen that look before and the bubbling fury boiled over.

It was a look Audrey had worn many times when she’d succeeded in cowing Syrena into something.

The pink-loving princess hadn’t ever pulled the look off so efficaciously, but she also hadn’t had an entire crew of villain kids to intimidate, it made sense that Uma had managed to perfect the look if she’d been bullying her way to the top her entire life.

Audrey had almost always been given what she wanted with little effort; she’d only ever had to use her browbeating on Syrena.

Still, seeing that expression again made the redhead hate the girl-captain.

She looked to Mal, moving down the dock to stand closer to her. Her friend didn’t look bored anymore, her stance was ridged, storm grey eyes darting quickly to Ben before she started speaking.

“Now let’s all just be smart, although, for you, that must be hard. You’ll get your wand, no one has to come to any harm.”

Uma and her crew laughed at Mal’s attempted insult and it infuriated Syrena more to see that the blue-clad girl was just as unimpressed with Mal as Mal had been with her.

If this battle of words was so uninspiring, why were they wasting time with it? It reminded Syrena of the few council meetings she’d sat in on with Ben and Audrey when Audrey was slated to be queen and training to hold a seat with Ben.

Another lightbulb and Syrena had to bite back a scoffing laugh as Mal continued speaking. That was exactly what this was. She was witnessing Isle politics at its best and it was just as useless as a cabinet meeting in Auradon.

“Don’t try to intimidate, your bark is much worse than your bite. Who’s the baddest of them all? I guess we’re finding out tonight!”

Let’s go, bring it on

Better give us what we want

It’s the wand for the crown

If you don’t, it’s goin down

Uma’s crew intoned together, stomping their feet and beating against the ship in a show of strength meant to intimidate them.

Syrena prepared herself, now that she had a better understanding of what this was, she knew her friends would be offering a retaliation.

She wasn’t disappointed as she heard the voices rise around her.

Let’s go, make your move

Peace or war, it’s up to you

Give him up and do it now

If you don’t, it’s goin down

Syrena joined in with the chant, following suit with the others, banging her fists against the railing of the dock and sneering at the pirates.

She felt Evie and Jay descend from the pier, swinging under the rickety rails to land heavily on the dock near Lonnie. Carlos joined them and when they got to Syrena, she moved with them to converge on Mal, backing her fiercely as two of Uma and her crew started again.

We want the wand,

Or else the king is gone

Your time is running out

You should really

Watch your mouth

~

Let’s go, pound for pound

We’re prepared to stand our ground

Put your swords up

Put ‘em up, it’s goin down

They may not have had as many people in their group as Uma had on her ship, but at that moment, as their united voices echoed the wharf, they were an army. Syrena could feel the adrenalin pumping through her veins.

But even as she roared their rebuttal with them, she couldn’t help feeling that this was still getting them nowhere.

Uma’s crew was egging them on, taunting them to make the trade while Harry twisted and turned Ben on the thin plank until the king was dizzy and struggling to stay upright.

She looked at each of her friend’s faces as they stood in a circle around her. Their eyes all trained on Mal, but Mal’s storm cloud gaze met hers. She saw the hesitation there, fleeting as it was, and Syrena found a use for the fury gripping her insides. Uma wasn’t Audrey, but Syrena didn’t care. She wasn’t going to stand to the side while another bully pushed her around.

She was done playing games.

Her friends were too shocked to grab her as she moved past Mal and down the gangway, meeting Uma in the middle.

They moved at the same slow pace, Syrena’s was purposeful and proud. Her chin up and her spine straight. She was every bit the princess she didn’t claim to be, looking down on the petty Isle girl in front of her.

Uma eyed her, deep brown alight with curiosity and suspicion.

“Okay, look,” Syrena started, voice loud and clear so everyone could hear her. “This is not a conversation. It’s a do-or-die situation,” she motioned to Ben, precarious on the plank and noted from her peripheral that he was alone. She didn’t want to take her eyes off Uma and risk giving the girl an opening for attack, especially since they were at such close proximity, but she didn’t trust Harry either and Ben’s fear-filled eyes gave her no indication as to where the dangerous boy had gone.

She was saved having to choose as the red-coated boy appeared beside his captain. His steel gaze focused so heavily on Syrena she could feel it like a physical weight on her skin. She forced herself to ignore it and focus on Uma.

“If you don’t give me back the king, I’ll have no hesitation. I’ll serve you right here, and I don’t need a reservation. That way your whole “pirate crew” can have a demonstration. Release him now and we can go our separate ways. Unless you wanna deal with me,” Syrena spared a glance over her shoulder to her friends, looking fierce and stone-faced and ready to defend her if Uma or her crew struck.

“And the VK’s,” she finished with a tiny, mocking shrug. Her hands outstretched and lips curled in a sardonically friendly smile.

Uma cackled at her, resting her weight on her sword with its point against the gangway, to keep from doubling over too far with the weight of her laugh.

Syrena knew the other girl was baiting her, waiting for her to break and retreat but the redhead wouldn’t do it. She steeled herself, ready for Uma’s scathing comeback.

“So that’s your big speech, huh? An empty ultimatum?” her eyes flicked past Syrena to raise an eyebrow at Mal. Syrena couldn’t see the look her orchid haired friend shot back, but Uma’s mahogany gaze returned to Syrena’s with something new glittering in their depths.

“All it takes is one swing, and I’ll humiliate him,” Harry spoke and Syrena watched with uncertainty as Uma bowed out of his way.

Syrena fortified herself as he approached, but it was a difficult task and everything in her mind screamed for her to retreat as he crowded her.

“Matter of fact, make one wrong move and I’ll debilitate him.”

She felt the water-worn wood of the gangplank sag behind her and calmed minutely as she felt Jay’s presence there. But it was quickly replaced with growing fear as the cold metal of Harry’s hook brushed her cheek and jaw. She couldn’t suppress the shiver that shot through her at the abnormally gentle caress.

Syrena narrowed her gaze and curled her lip, baring her teeth in what she hoped was an intimidating display but the keen, manic smile he gave her told her she had missed her mark. It was almost like he found her attempt at threatening him, amusing.

“And if he even starts to slip, I’ll eliminate him.”

He was so close to her now she could smell him. Sweat and salt with an underlying pungent stench of fish. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. He grinned again, backing up a step but keeping their gazes locked.

The constant eye contact was unnerving, made Syrena feel itchy and desperate to break the stare, but she couldn’t. It would be seen as a weakness that she couldn’t afford.

“All it takes is one wrong look and I’ll-”

She breathed a silent sigh of relief when he spun away from her, only to have to force herself to remain still when he came back around and lunged towards her. Her resolve finally broke and she flinched as he raised his hand at her, readying herself for a blow.

“Harry, we get it. Chill,” Uma’s harsh voice demanded.

Syrena opened her eyes and caught the girl-captain pulling her first mate back by his hook.

Mahogany and emerald met as Jay’s hand clasped around Syrena’s bicep, pulling her back to the group. If Syrena didn’t know better, she’d name the look in Uma’s eyes as impressed, but when she tried to get a better analysis, the girl had reverted to her hard glare.

Evie grabbed Syrena from Jay, pulling her far enough back that, if she tried to do anything like that again, they were ready to stop her. Still, they all offered her a momentary flicker of pride and Syrena’s chest swelled.

Her plan hadn’t worked, it didn’t seem, but she’d achieved something.

Let’s go, bring it on

Better give us what we want

It’s the wand for the crown

If you don’t, it’s goin down

~

Let’s go, make your move

Peace or war, it’s up to you

Give him up and do it now

If you don’t, it’s goin down

~

We want the wand,

Or else the king is gone

Your time is running out

You should really

Watch your mouth

~

Let’s go, pound for pound

We’re prepared to stand our ground

Put your swords up

Put ‘em up, it’s goin down

Carlos handed over the fake wand to Mal and they fell into formation behind her as she crossed to the center of the gangplank, prepared to make the exchange for Ben and make their escape.

“Hey!” Ben shouted from the plank and Mal paused mid-step. Syrena’s gaze snapped to the king too, nervous and afraid that he might say something and blow their whole plan out of the water.

She pleaded silently for him to stay quiet, but he wasn’t looking at her to see.

“We don’t have to choose. We don’t have to light the fuse.”

Everyone was looking at him now. Syrena chewed her lip uneasily.

“Mal, whatever you do, it’s gonna be a lose-lose. There’s got to be a better way.”

The desperation in his light eyes was almost heartbreaking. But it was the look in Mal’s stormy eyes that stung.

The way Ben was talking, it was like he believed that Mal would trade Fairy Godmother’s wand away.

Like he truly believed that Mal had stolen the wand.

And Mal felt that as a deep cut. Especially when he shifted his gaze to look at Uma.

“Uma, I promise I’ll give you your chance. You’ll have your say.”

The girl-captain scoffed, pointing her sword at him as she moved through her crew.

“Silly king, you give me? You’re gonna give me a chance? Well, not a chance!” She screamed out, cackling as her crew taunted them again.

Syrena’s focus stayed on Ben and Harry as they began their dangerous dance on the narrow plank again.

Uma repeated her girlish little skipping dance down the gangplank to meet Mal, eyes focused on the wand in Mal’s hand.

Their plan was still on.

Syrena thought back to Ben’s distrust and decided that, if their plan worked and they escaped, she’d have to have a serious conversation with her friend about trust.

“Hold up,” Uma demanded, eyeing the wand Mal held outstretched to her. “Mm. Too easy.”

Syrena swallowed thickly. They hadn’t come up with a plan for this scenario.

“Why don’t you give it a test drive? We want to see it work.”

Syrena shared an uncertain look with Evie and Carlos as Mal chuckled, unamused, at Uma’s command.

“You always were quite the drama queen.”

Evie shifted next to Syrena, her head tilting almost imperceptibly to the pier above them. Carlos and Syrena followed her gaze and confusion washed over the redhead at the sight of the scraggly brown mutt prancing toward them.

Hadn’t Carlos told Dude to say?

“Oh, and nothing too big, or else Ben is fish bait,” Uma cooed mockingly. Harry dangled Ben further over the edge of the plank, the crew laughed as the king struggled to right himself to no avail.

“We’re dead,” she heard Carlos murmur to them. But Evie’s face was set in a hard glare. Syrena could practically see the gears in her head, turning and shifting. The plot forming.

When the navy haired girl leaned in and whispered something to Carlos, Syrena grinned.

She didn’t know what the girl had come up with, but Evie was brilliant, and the redhead had absolute faith in whatever she’d concocted.

Mal turned to look at them, eyebrow raised. Carlos jerked his head almost invisibly toward the pier. Dude whimpered and pranced as Mal’s gaze landed on him.

Syrena wasn’t sure where this was going, but it didn’t matter because Mal did.

In a swirl of purple, the daughter of Maleficent turned back to Uma and smirked.

“Okay,” she nodded, moving to the railing, twirling the wand lazily in her grasp.

Uma’s dark eyes tracked her, the crew slinked closer, a hush falling over them all as they collectively held their breath in anticipation.

“Although it seems absurd, turn you bark into a word!” Mal intoned, flicking the wand in an elegant loop with a flourished point towards Dude.

Everyone watched, waited, staring the poor dog down until…

…nothing.

Dude blinked his cute puppy eyes at them blankly.

Syrena wanted to scream. Had whatever potion he’d taken worn off at exactly the wrong time?

Uma cocked her head at Mal, looking bored and annoyed. Her chest rose and fell with a silent huff of disappointment.

Mal glanced back and then returned her strained smile to Dude.

“Talk, dog,” she commanded, an edge of pleading in her tone.

“Does this vest make me look fat?” Dude stage whispered and Uma’s crew erupted with laughter. Even Uma’s stern expression cracked with an amused smile. It was almost cute if the redhead didn’t still feel a loathing towards the girl captain, she’d have admired the way the grin changed the girl’s demeanor completely.

Syrena felt her friends relax just a little and Dude kept speaking.

They could still make it out of this with Ben. They could still make this plan work.

“Hey, does anyone have some bacon? Cookies?” The dog rattled on. But Syrena could focus on what he was asking for over the melodic giggle that filled her ears even through the uproar echoing around them.

Her eyes drifted to the source of the sound.

Uma, with a grin of pure delight revealing glittering white teeth splitting her pretty face. Syrena felt something squirm in her belly, she couldn’t name it and she wasn’t sure she liked it. It made the abhorrence inside her ease.

Was she a siren? Was that how she managed to control her villainous crew?

Ursula hadn’t been a siren, surely her daughter wasn’t.

Syrena tramped down the ridiculous thoughts, tearing her gaze from the girl with an agitated sneer.

This girl-captain had kidnapped Ben, had threatened them and was planning on breaking the barrier to destroy Auradon.

She was not cute or pretty. She was a shark, ruthless and cruel, who bullied others to get her way.

Syrena repeated those words to herself like a mantra. Over and over until the revulsion flamed anew.

It was made easier as the girl’s melodious giggle turned back into the sharp snarl.

“Give me the wand!” She demanded. Her hand outstretched towards Mal.

“Give me Ben!” The orchid haired girl shot back. Her tone just as vicious.

Silence fell over the ship again as the two leaders stared each other down.

Surprisingly, Uma broke first. A sardonic smile curling her lips.

“Harry, bring him over,” she called to her first mate and the boy did as he was told, dragging Ben carefully backward over the plank and across the deck.

“Oh, um, before you go,” Gil spoke as Ben and Harry passed him. His eyes were focused upward as if the words he was speaking were displayed in the sky for him to read. Syrena couldn’t help but tune in to what the boy was about to say, though she was sure it was going to be an unnecessary and unrelated topic. “Tell your mom that Gaston says hi and also tell your dad that my dad wishes he’d finished off your dad when he had the chance.”

Yup. Utterly unnecessary and unrelated.

Gods he was dim.

Ben’s grunt of pain as Harry shoved him down onto the hard deck of the ship drew Syrena’s eyes away from the blond fool.

She took a quick step forward, ready to retrieve her friend and bring him to safety, but the firm grips of both Evie and Carlos on her arms halted her immediately.

Instead, she was left to glare at the pirates. Uma propped her arm on Ben’s head, resting her chin delicately on her hand as she cooed mockingly at Mal, her other hand outstretched towards Mal again, fingers wriggling for the wand.

Mal mirrored her, unyielding. She wouldn’t give up the wand until Ben was with them.

“Cut him loose, Harry,” the captain ordered.

Syrena watched the boy glance between Mal and Uma as he huffed and sighed heavily.

“I never get to have any fun,” he grumbled, running his sword through the ropes binding Ben’s ankles and wrists, severing the bonds in one easy motion.

The king grabbed Mal’s offered hand instantly and Mal extended the wand to Uma who clasped it in her hand swiftly.

Eager cries of excitement and praise erupted from the crew as their captain turned triumphantly towards them, wand in the air for all to see.

Mal jerked Ben to his feet and shoved him towards Evie and Syrena.

Both girls grabbed at him, urgently tugging him up the dock towards safety but his feet weren’t cooperating with them. His eyes stayed fixed on Uma as the girl rushed into the fray of excited pirates.

“Ben come on!” Syrena snapped, eyes darting between the steel-eyed pirate still watching them, and her statue-like friend.

“Go! Move!” Mal shouted, shoving hard against Ben’s chest until he stumbled. Even the near fall couldn’t tear his gaze from the pirates and Syrena was starting to feel panic rising to grip and squeeze her heart.

Uma was already preparing to use the wand and Ben was nowhere near the exit.

They were going to get caught. Their plan, that had gone so well to this point, was going to come crashing down around them all because this…this sea-witch had somehow transfixed the heartbroken king!

“Ben please!” The redhead cried, tugging the boy’s jacket desperately.

The girl-captain had the wand raised, pointed to the sky and the unseen barrier.

“By the power of the sea, tear it down and set us free!”

Dread tore through Syrena as the pirates watched and waited for something, anything, to happen. And as their faces morphed from excited anticipation to uncertain disappointment, she knew that their escape had failed.

Uma screeched as she realized what had happened. A fit of rage compelling her to snap the replica wand over her knee.

Mal and Syrena redoubled their efforts to force Ben up the dock ramp. They weren’t waiting on him to come to his senses anymore, they had no time left for that. Instead, they pushed and dragged him forcibly along the path.

“You do not get to win every time!” Uma screamed furiously.

The clattering of swords drew Syrena’s gaze up to the pier where Jay and Lonnie were working to disperse the weapons.

Carlos and Evie pulled out the smoke bombs, an eruption of blue creating a blinding wall in front of the enraged pirates, giving Jay a chance to hand out the rest of the swords and ready himself for the coming onslaught.

Golden smoke rained from the sky as Lonnie shoved a sword into Syrena’s hand.

“No!” The redhead tried to give it back, eyes wide and frantic with fear. “I don’t know how to use this,” she rushed, but the warrior daughter was already gone.

A battle cry roared above them as a pirate swung through a cloud of red to land on the pier. He engaged Evie immediately and Syrena worried for her friend until she saw the girl match him blow for blow.

More pirates rushed them. Mal had returned to the gangplank, cutting their attackers down and tossing them over the rails and into the water before they could reach the others, but she was quickly overwhelmed as the entire crew rushed her at once.

“Syrena down!”

The redhead managed to heed the warning Carlos shouted at her above the clatter of metal on metal. She dropped to her knees as a sword swung above her head, the blow left the pirate’s stomach unprotected and she lunged on instinct, shoving him off balance and into the water out of sheer luck.

“Find Ben, get him back to the limo!” Carlos shouted again, fighting off his opponent. The quick look he shot her over his shoulder cost him the upper hand and Syrena felt terrible as she saw his counterblow stutter.

She didn’t hesitate to start scouring the crowd to do what Carlos had told her. She was useless here, but if she could get Ben to safety while the others fought, she wouldn’t be such a hindrance.

“Hello, kitten.”

Syrena swallowed hard at the recognizable accent purring behind her.

She turned sword raised, the point level with his chest, and glared what she hoped was menacing.

“Aw,” he cooed, slapping her blade down with a lazy stroke of his own. “cute.”

Syrena felt her panic expand within her chest, gripping tightly as she backed away from the manic boy. Her sword rose again, it was heavy, her arm already ached from the weight of it and she had a new respect for Lonnie that, if she survived this, she would spend the rest of her life telling the girl how impressive she was.

“Go away,” she demanded weakly.

Honestly, could she sound any more like a princess?

Probably. If she added a please at the end.

The boy tilted his chin, finger tapping there as if he were considering her request.

“Ah, no. I don’t think I will.”

His crazed laugh sent a shiver up her spine. She wanted desperately to look around, search out her friends and plead them to rescue her. But she didn’t dare take her eyes off the pirate and give him the chance to attack.

Not that he seemed to need her distracted. Each step he took forward was matched with her step backward until her ankle hit a small staircase and she toppled down with a yelp of surprise and pain as the wood scrapped against her calf.

Her sword clattered to the ground. His heavy boot came down on the blade, halting its skittering escape with a smirk.

Her eyes widened as he brought his blade down on her. She flinched, her hands rising to protect her face. The sharp edge of the sword caught her palm, cutting through the leather of her glove to split the delicate skin beneath.

The pain burned through her, but there was something familiar about it. Something almost…recognizable.

A smirk curled her lips, a scoffing laugh escaping her.

Her fingers curled around the blade as she met his steel gaze, delighting in the startled shock she saw there. She jerked hard, feeling the well-honed edge digging deeper, using his tight grip on the hilt and his weight to pull herself back up. Blood welled up, warming her palm as it coated her skin.

What was a single cut of a blade compared to a thousand glass shards piercing their way through her flesh on a daily basis?

His demented laughter caught her off guard. His free hand lashed out, seizing her wrist in a firm grip. She released the blade, startled, and found herself firmly held in place, her back to his front. So close she could feel his chest vibrating with his mirth.

“You’re mad,” he delighted. His fingers slid underneath the quarter sleeve of her borrowed jacket as she fought to free herself and his laughter died.

The calloused digits smoothed over the pale white scars and the dried blood she’d left there.

Syrena saw her opening, felt his grip slacken in his distraction.

“You have no idea,” she snarled.

With a firm tug, she brought her elbow up, satisfied in the wicked crunch she heard as the bone connected with his face.

He released her instantly, howling in pain, his hands moving to hold his broken nose.

She took the second opportunity she saw, darting forward to seize his sword as it fell from his grasp.

She missed, catching the red ribbon tied around the hilt instead. It came off in her hand and she smirked at him as his steel glare leveled her. The built-up tears of pain lessened the effect and she offered him a taunting curtsey before darting up the stairs and away, swiping her fallen sword as she went.

Syrena could hear him coming after her, but Jay was there to intercede.

The ex-thief nodded at her as she passed.

“Get Ben, get to the limo,” he repeated Carlos’s earlier order, eyes flicking to Harry, his bloody nose and the muddle of emotions in his watery grey eyes. “Nice.”

Syrena jerked her chin at him with a smile before continuing up the dock to find the king and escort him to safety.

She felt like she was flying, her heart pounded in her chest as she ran, dodging oncoming attackers with mirthful laughter.

Maybe Harry was right, maybe she was mad. But she’d bested him in a fight and that left her with a feeling of elation so great, she was sure she could take on anyone.

Her bleeding palm throbbed dully, but she couldn’t feel it unless she looked at the wound and reminded herself that it hurt.

She didn’t do that.

She had to find Ben. That was her mission and she wouldn’t fail.

She couldn’t.

She spotted Ben’s royal blue leather jacket a few docks up from her at the same time she heard a strange battle cry ring out above her.

With a hand over her eyes to shield them from the dim sunlight filtering through the thick gray fog looming over the Isle, Syrena was startled to see the Son of Gaston swinging from a rope, over the docks to land heavily in front of Ben.

Who did he think he was? Tarzan?

With a groan, Syrena started moving again. Sprinting up the lengths of precariously built dock to get to the king. Her eyes tracked an escape route to the exposed sewer pipe they’d come through, but with so much movement and so many people, it was hard to discern a path that wasn’t completely overrun in the next moment.

As she scanned the mass of people for a new route, she spotted Evie still up on the pier and holding her own against several opponents one after the other.

She was beautiful and deadly as she slashed and parried her way out of each skirmish and Syrena couldn’t help feeling a little inadequate compared to the navy haired VK. Her victory against Harry seemed less impressive next to Evie’s graceful skill with a blade.

All she’d done was fall down, cut her hand and incapacitate him with a cheap shot once he was distracted.

But Evie destroyed every pirate that came for her with dance-like poise and wore a smile the entire time.

She’d have to ask her friend to teach her when they made it back to Auradon.

In her moment of distraction, Gil got the upper hand on Ben who’d fallen over a step and was sprawled across the wood as Gil brought down his sword.

Hurtling one of the rails, she almost collided with Carlos doing the same. The white-haired boy stilled her on the rails with a sharp look before setting his sights on the son of Gaston.

“Hey, Gil,” he called, and the blond boy turned on him.

Their blades met with a harsh clash midair.

“Get out of here, Ben,” Carlos ordered, face stern and arms straining to hold the larger boy back.

Syrena jumped from the rail, hand out for Ben to take as he ducked and rolled under Carlos and Gil’s crossed blades. She winced when he grabbed it, remembering the bleeding gash running the length of her palm and the smaller stinging cuts across her fingers. But Ben didn’t seem to notice and now wasn’t the time for him too.

Drawing him back to his feet and pushing him ahead of her in the same swift motion, she urged him forward to safety.

“Honestly Ben, if you’d just run when we told you to, we could have avoided all of this,” Syrena scolded by way of greeting as they ran up the docks towards Evie.

“Good to see you too,” he chuckled breathlessly.

They managed to reach the pier with minor interruption. The few pirates who tried to challenge them were swiftly put down or sent over the rails into the dark water below.

“Ben!” Evie greeted, turning away from her fallen opponent to engage the crazed blond girl at her back. She didn’t seem to notice the new boy coming for her, but Ben did.

Climbing up the pier and slipping under the railing, Ben met the boy head-on.

It took Syrena a moment longer than she would have liked to notice that Evie was fending off two swords at the same time, but as soon as she did, she was following Ben’s path up the pier’s edge and taking over the battle with the blond girl so Evie could focus on the other.

The tides turned quickly for the makeshift King’s Guard.

Evie, Ben, and Syrena were quick to disable their opponents. Syrena spotted Mal and Uma, still near the gangplank, and wanted to cheer for Mal’s victory when she saw the girl-captain go down. She kept herself under control though as Carlos appeared next to them.

“Jay, go start the car,” Carlos commanded as the ex-thief joined them.

“I’ll meet you guys there,” Evie told them. She looked to Syrena, nodding for her to follow Jay and Carlos.

“What about Ben?” the redhead asked as they ran towards the exposed pipe to freedom.

“Mal and Evie will get him,” Jay told her, catching Lonnie by the sleeve of her sweatshirt as they passed and dragging her along with them.

Syrena wasn’t sure why she looked back, but she wasn’t glad she did.

Uma was coming for Mal’s back, enraged and vengeful. Harry was close behind her, sword drawn and…why was he wet?

She’d have to ask Jay about that later.

“Evie and Mal do not have Ben,” Syrena shouted over the thunderous clashing of swords, stopping short to redirect herself and return to the fray.

Jay grabbed her hand before she could get too far away. She yelped at the sudden and painful reminder of her injury.

“They have him,” he insisted before raising her hand to inspect the shredded leather and bloody flesh. “What happened?”

“Harry. And he’s about to do the same to Ben’s face,” Syrena snapped, yanking against his grip on her as she watched the red-coated maniac attacking their king.

Ben managed to get the upper hand in the fight, and she was so glad for his active involvement in school sports that had made him a decent swordsman.

But Evie, Mal, and Carlos weren’t faring as well.

“We have to help them!” She tried again, but Jay maintained his firm grip on her hand, his thumb digging into the tender flesh around the open wound until she yelped again and returned her gaze to him.

“We have to get the car and be ready for them when they come out.” His tone was firm, his dark eyes hard as he stared her rebellion down. When she finally faltered, he softened slightly. “We need to get this looked at too.”

“What if they don’t come out?” Syrena whispered weakly, drawing her wounded hand to cradle against her chest when he released her.

“They will.” He smiled at her and then pushed her gently towards the pipe.

The last thing she saw before Jay’s large frame blocked her view was Uma’s wicked smile as she trapped Mal’s sword against the dock.


	9. The Journey Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one except Syrena.
> 
> Author's Note:
> 
> Y'all, this chapter kicked my butt hard. There was a lot of rewriting and deleting and nearly throwing my Mac out some windows. But it's done now and I'm happy with it. Even though it's mostly filler, it does serve a purpose and I hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> I don't think the next chapter is going to take nearly as long to get out and if all goes according to plan, I hope to have it up by Monday or Tuesday. We're in the home stretch and then I can start on D3!!!!!!!
> 
> Like the last chapter, this one is unedited (mostly, as she did manage to take a look at one section for me) so I apologize for any errors. I did try to run it through Grammarly to help, but it's not nearly as effective as my friend is.
> 
> As always, thank you to StephLauren and VeraWA for their constant support and kind words. 
> 
> If you haven't read through the comments and are interested in knowing more about Syrena's condition, VeraWA asked about it and I gave a pretty detailed response, so go check it out! (Her curiosity has also inspired a short that I am now working on :) so get psyched about that!) 
> 
> And to StephLauren, my dear, trust me, you are not the only one who is torn between loving the slow burn and wanting Syrena to just be with Harry and Uma. D3 is going to be the place for the slow burn to heat up, so get excited!
> 
> Alright, I'll stop rambling now. Hope you all enjoy!

Something massive and unseen crashed to the earth, vibrating the ground under their feet. Syrena stumbled against the momentary shaking, hands clasping against Jay’s firm bicep to keep herself upright. Lonnie used the wall of the tunnel to fight the tremors, halting their trek until the juddering ceased. They were near the end. The misty gray light of the alley and the limo parked there visible through the mouth of the pipe.

As the ground settled again, Lonnie hopped out of the passageway, followed by Jay who turned to help Syrena down. She kept her injured hand close to her chest and the ex-thief was careful not to jostle it as he moved her out of the way.

Lonnie stayed at the tunnel mouth, sword ready, waiting for the rest of their group to emerge. Syrena watched her, the smile on her face bright and exuberant despite the battle they’d just escaped. Her body practically vibrated with adrenalin. She was feeling gratified and elated, accomplishing something Syrena suspected Lonnie likened to her mother’s own achievements.

It had always been important to Lonnie to be like her mother, but Auradon didn’t offer the same opportunities that the kingdoms ununited had in Mulan’s day. She hoped that, if Lonnie told her mom what they’d done, the General would be proud of her daughter’s bravery and skill.

“Let me see?”

Jay’s gentle request drew Syrena’s attention to the boy’s soft eyes. He looked so genuinely concerned, holding out his hand for hers, that she didn’t hesitate to acquiesce, offering her palm to him for inspection.

His soft hiss as he saw the wound up close for the first time, conveyed to her the extent of her damage.

“Ow!” she squealed, jerking her hand away from him. Her emerald eyes wide with upset as they met his guilty oak depths. He held up her shredded and bloodied half glove he’d removed with a sympathetic half-smile.

His quick hands hadn’t been diminished in Auradon it seemed.

“Sorry,” he muttered, “I need something to wrap it with until we get back across the bridge.”

Syrena faltered, chewing her bottom lip as she contemplated the pros and cons of tearing her shirt for a makeshift bandage. Then she remembered the crimson ribbon, stolen from the manic son of Captain Hook.

“Here.” She fished the scrap of silk from her pocket with her good hand, holding it out to Jay with a triumphant smile.

“Where’d you get that?” he asked, taking it from her and beginning to wrap her palm as gingerly as he could.

“Stole it from Harry,” she answered with a broader smile.

Jay sniggered at her, tying the crimson strip into a tight knot as rapid echoing footsteps sounded from the exposed sewer drain.

“You okay?” Lonnie asked as Carlos emerged from the pipe.

“Yeah, I’m good,” the white-haired boy replied with a grin. He hopped easily down from the pipe and jogged towards Syrena and Jay. “Nice work out there, Lonnie!” he complimented as he went.

“Get in the car,” Jay ordered, gesturing Syrena towards the opposite side of the vehicle as Carlos opened one of the doors for Dude to jump in.

The redhead bristled at the command, the fulsome grin curling her lips dropping to a severe frown.

She wanted to fight him, wanted to tell him she was going to keep waiting until Ben was safely in the car with her. But the pleading look and tender squeeze he gave her injured hand had her reluctantly turning to walk around the limo and slip into the backseat.

Dude hopped into her lap instantly. Laying consoling licks to her fingers and chin until she began petting his shaggy head.

Together they watched as Evie appeared at the mouth of the tunnel.

“Come on, Evie, get in,” Carlos called to the navy haired girl.

She dropped her sword into the open trunk before sliding into the car and across the L shaped seat to embrace Syrena.

“You were amazing out there!” the redhead gushed as the hug broke.

Evie flushed and smiled, her hand waving the compliment away demurely. Her apple red lips parted on a word that died there as her eyes dropped to the crimson bandage messily wrapped around the hand affectionately stroking Dude’s fluffy head.

“What’s this?”

Syrena shifted contritely, tucking her hand under Dude, on her lap. Her gaze dropped, unable to bear the intensity of Evie’s melted chocolate stare.

“It’s nothing. Jay took care of it.”

“You got hurt?”

Syrena was saved having to answer as Ben leapt out of the pipe, out of breath and nervous as he stared into the dark abyss.

“Mal!” he shouted into the shadows.

Syrena felt Evie’s hand squeeze her knee, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth, worry for their friend’s slow arrival obscuring the navy haired girl’s customarily cheery face. Syrena reached out with her good hand to rub soothingly at her friend’s back.

The navy haired girl let out a breath Syrena wasn’t sure she realized she’d been holding as their orchid haired leader emerged.

Ben grabbed her hand, supporting her unnecessarily as she leapt off the lip of the duct. He dragged her at his side as they ran to the limo together. Lonnie’s desperate urging rang through the empty alley followed by two dull thumps as the couple threw their swords into the trunk.

She wondered briefly what had happened to her own borrowed blade and guessed Jay must have taken it away from her somewhere around the time she’d been desperately trying to rejoin the fray.

The trunk slammed shut with a heavy thud, shaking the car and reminding Syrena of the small earthquake they’d felt moments ago. She was curious about what had caused the tremors but didn’t have the energy in her to ask.

Mal, Ben, and Lonnie piled into the limo with the warrior daughter taking the passenger seat up front with Jay. While Mal and Ben took the open bench between the doors in the back.

The tires screeched as Jay sped out of the alley, hurtling them towards the bridge. And home.

Dude hopped from Syrena’s lap to return to his owner on the other side of Evie and Syrena bit back a cry as the small dog inadvertently stepped on her injured palm.

The limo was silent, everyone taking the time to process the events that had taken place since Mal ran away from Auradon and praise the fact that they’d all made it out of the battle safe and relatively unscathed.

“I’m really sorry that things didn’t go the way you wanted them to,” Ben spoke, breaking through the stillness. Replacing it with tension as Mal’s dove grey gaze shot to meet his focused hazel one.

The dumbfounded look on the orchid haired girl’s face caught Syrena a bit off guard. She had expected Mal to be incensed at Ben and the fact that she was being carted back to Auradon in direct contradiction to her entire plan. But instead, she was temperate and despondent.

“I mean, as long as you’re safe, that’s…” she waved her hand as if she wasn’t sure how to finish her sentence, but Ben seemed to understand what she meant.

“Well, I mean, at least I got to see the Isle.”

His attempted smile missed its usual mark of innocent optimism.

“They’re my people, too,” he added morosely.

Syrena slouched against Evie’s side, drawing comfort in the fact that her navy haired friend looped their arms together so she could hold the redhead’s hand and lay her head atop Syrena’s. She felt Carlos shift in the tight space, his longer legs stretching and then drawing back into himself as he bumped hers accidentally.

She nudged his calf gently with the toe of her boot and smiled at him when he met her gaze. With a small nod, the whitehaired boy shifted again, extending his legs across the small walkway. His bare skin brushed against the laces of her boots, but he didn’t draw away this time and Syrena noted with a small satisfaction that he seemed more comfortable now.

The momentary distraction, though, wasn’t enough to detract the resonation of Ben’s words through her weary heart.

The residents of the Isle of the Lost were his people too, he was correct about that. And the way they were living wasn’t acceptable or safe. The children of villains, as wicked as their parents were. Did not deserve to live in squalor and filth, eating moldy food and sleeping in makeshift lean-tos that offered no protection from the elements or other people’s vile intentions.

“Uma helped me see that,” Ben murmured.

Syrena felt Evie tense at her side and her own tired body reacted too.

She didn’t like the distant, unfocused look in Ben’s eyes as he referred to his kidnapper.

“Ben, Uma captured you,” Mal snapped, voicing the cars unanimous concern. Her bright pink lips were drawn tight in a frown, disbelieving that he’d say anything positive about the pirate.

“She’s an angry girl with a bad plan,” Ben defended, unaffected by his…

…ex-girlfriend? Syrena wasn’t sure anymore and her brain was too exhausted to try and figure it out now.

“That’s not so different from when you came to Auradon, Mal.”

The redhead’s emerald eyes snapped to her friend.

Was he actually stupid? Had one of the pirates hit him too hard over the head?

Mal’s mouth dropped in vexed stupefaction. She couldn’t find words to express how unexpected and hurtful his argument was, but Syrena could see it in her storm-cloud eyes. From what little she knew about Uma and what she’d seen of the girl during the failed exchange, she couldn’t see where Ben’s comparison was coming from.

Sure, Mal had come to Auradon with her mother’s plan and a level of mistrust and aggression towards the sons and daughters of royals and heroes.

And yeah, as a way to enact her plan, Mal had given Ben the love spell cookie but…

Syrena flinched as her brain exploded with pain. She rubbed at her temple, hoping to soothe the forming headache and stopped trying to think about something so complex as motives and who was more like whom.

She longed for her bed and the ability to sleep for the next several days.

Maybe she could sleep through cotillion.

She wouldn’t get to wear her beautiful dress, but the idea of cocooning in her cushy, cozy bed seemed tempting enough to outweigh the gown’s stunning appearance.

Maybe they’d even stop cotillion altogether.

By the way the royal ex-couple couldn’t even look at each other, the possibility of a cancellation didn’t seem so farfetched.

Her eyes drifted closed, her body relaxing against Evie’s as she forced all thought from her mind. Opening to the enticing darkness that seemed ready to consume her.

“Awkward,” Dude announced to the car and Syrena had to bite back a laugh as her wearied brain fell victim to sleep-deprived amusements.

She felt Evie shift next to her and her eyes peeked open to see her and Carlos trying to silence the dog.

“Dude, I know you can talk, but that doesn’t always mean you should,” the dog’s owner whispered frantically, eyes darting from his pet to his already on edge friend.

The car fell to introversion again, but, as Dude had said, it was enormously uncomfortable and Syrena wordlessly implored that Jay to find the gas pedal and get them back to Auradon swiftly.

\---

The blue and green shield of Auradon Prep’s welcome sign had never been such a cheering sight. As they passed by the vibrant green lawn and sun spotted pathways littered with giddy students completely oblivious to the trials she and her friends had faced, Syrena felt a familiar ease wash over her.

On this side of the bridge, her hazy mind depicted the events of the past few days as a dream. A fantasy of storybook villains and heroes battling for good. A distant memory shadowed by dim candlelight. It didn’t seem real because, on this side of the bridge, it wasn’t.

No one knew what they’d done, or what they’d been through.

No one knew Mal had run away out of fear of rejection and failure. They didn’t have the faintest idea that their King and his friends had gone after the wayward future Lady, or that he’d been kidnapped by wannabe pirates and held for ransom.

If it weren’t for the tense silence suffocating her in the backseat of the limo, Syrena could almost pretend that she and her friends were returning from a vacation. A quick, relaxing trip to help them prepare for Mal’s cotillion.

She’d almost rather believe that and join her fellow students in the fallacy that today was just another day in Auradon.

But she couldn’t because she knew what lay beyond their delusion, had seen the truth for herself and there wasn’t any going back from that. The thought of pretending, of continuing the false narrative they’d all been fed since the founding of the United States of Auradon, turned her stomach.

Goodness doesn’t get any better. But it could if they gave the children of the Isle a chance.

Jay parked the limo where Ben directed him, and they all piled out slowly. Lonnie and Jay seemed the only two to be unaffected by the tension, likely due to their separation from it in the front seats.

Syrena envied them that, standing on the outskirts of the group, close to Evie but feeling like an outsider. She was too stuck in her own head to be involved with the rest of them. Her hand was throbbing. Little jets of fire jolting through her nerves as she cradled the injured appendage against her chest.

They walked through the courtyard, Lonnie and Jay in the lead and Mal and Ben taking the rear.

Syrena felt her heart ache dully at Mal’s closed-off demeanor. She didn’t think she’d ever seen the strong, confident girl so sullen and withdrawn. But with her arms wrapped around herself, head down so her orchid bangs covered her eyes, it was clear she was in her head too.

“I’ll get these back to the gym,” Lonnie announced, patting the heavy bag of practice swords slung over her shoulder.

Jay nodded to her, thanking her with a grin. His eyes followed her as she broke away from the group, jogging the length of the courtyard towards the gymnasium.

“See you later!” the warrior daughter called to the rest of them as she went.

Syrena raised her hand to wave goodbye but stopped as the shooting pain worsened.

“You need to get that looked at.”

Syrena glanced up from where she was clutching her palm, hoping the pressure would ease the fire burning away at her nerve endings, to meet Carlos’s dark brown eyes.

“Oh, um…yeah. I will.”

She felt everyone else’s eyes on her, the group coming to a halt in a misshapen circle, but Carlos’s gaze was the one she held. He looked as tired as Syrena felt. Even still, he was concerned for her and it warmed her weary heart.

“He’s right, ‘Rena,” Evie agreed, a small half-smile curling her apple red lips.

Syrena was still mesmerized by the navy haired girl’s flawless make-up. Even after days without sleep, sword fighting pirates and escaping the Isle, her friend’s appearance remained the epitome of perfection.

“Jay’s bandaging skills aren’t great. It’d probably be safer for you to have Merriweather look at the cut,” Evie added with a little laugh, her chocolate eyes flickering to Jay teasingly. “Just to be safe.”

“Hey!” Jay protested with a grin, “I’m an excellent bandager.”

“That’s definitely not a word,” Carlos admonished, joining in the growing laughter with a shake of his head.

Syrena held up her hand, slowly so as not to further irritate the already enraged wound. The crimson ribbon Jay had used as a makeshift wrap drooped loosely around her palm, slipping to coil uselessly down her wrist. The sight brought about another bout of soft laughter that eased the tension shrouding them. If only just a bit.

“Okay…you might be right.”

She glanced over her shoulder to look at Mal and Ben but couldn’t find anything to say to either of them.

There were no words of comfort in her for the sullen orchid haired girl that Syrena thought would do any good. And she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say to Ben.

She still felt off-kilter after his remark about Uma and the way he’d acted reluctant to leave the girl-captain when they’d rescued him.

“I think I’ll head to the infirmary,” the redhead finally acquiesced. “I’ll see you later?”

Evie nodded with another half-smile and Syrena turned on her heel heading off in the same direction Lonnie had with a last, fleeting look to Mal and Ben.

She passed Jane as she went, the frantic brunette shouting out to Ben an unnecessary reminder about cotillion.

Syrena’s heart clenched at the word spoken aloud.

As much as she wanted to curl up in her bed and hide away for a while, she didn’t want all of Jane’s hard work and preparation to go to waste.

Just like she didn’t want Mal and Ben’s relationship to end.

The VK girl had grown so much since choosing good and, even if she couldn’t see it, she had changed Auradon for good too. Everything she’d done throughout her training as a Lady of the Court had been with her whole self. Every meeting she’d had on her royal tour, missteps and all, had won the collective heart of the kingdom.

Ben saw it too. Syrena knew he had. She wasn’t sure what had happened to him while he was Uma’s captive or what the pirate girl had told him to put him in such an introspective mood. But whatever it was, whatever action he thought to take because of it, Mal could help and be by his side through it.

Auradon deserved a queen like Mal.

Ben deserved a queen like Mal.

This was one hitch in a lifetime of happy endings.

Syrena just hoped her friends would realize that too.

\---

_Light, so bright it was blinding in the darkness, shone against an ink-black background._

__

_Syrena’s hand rose to shield her eyes from the white glow, only to be obscured by an emerald glare that pulsed in time with the other._

__

_Her wrist burned agonizingly, but fear pounding through her kept her eyes ahead._

__

_A wicked cackle echoed from the shadows. She recognized the sound, but her mind refused to focus as the scalding increased. She tried to force her brain to cooperate, something inside told her it was important to remember, but the white-hot pain against wrist made it impossible._

__

_A splash followed the cackle._

__

_A tidal wave emerged from the dark, so suddenly Syrena wasn’t given the chance to avoid it._

__

_The burn was instantly nothing compared to the feeling of glass shoving its way through her skin. She tried to scream as her flesh tore to make way for the iridescent knives, but no sound escaped._

__

_Swallowed by the empty blackness._

__

_Muted by another dreadful screech._

Syrena shot up in her bed, chest heaving and eyes unfocused as they flicked over every part of her room. Searching out an enemy that didn’t exist.

Her hair stuck to her, itchy and startling as she felt the tendrils brush against her sweaty skin. She tried to brush them away with little success before settling on pulling the heavy locks into a high ponytail secured by her hand.

Her other palm touched her damp cheek and she was unnerved to feel scratchy fabric instead of soft flesh until she recalled her trip to the infirmary and the deep, jagged cut stretching diagonally from the blade of her hand to the heel.

She’d had to lie to the fairy attendant who’d disinfected and bandaged her properly. Had to come up with a believable explanation for the wound that didn’t involve telling Merriweather that she’d been sword fighting a manic pirate in order to rescue the king.

The blue-clad woman had told her the wound would scar heavily. That she’d be lucky if she didn’t have permanent damage to the nerves.

Syrena had shrugged the concern away. What was one more scar to add to her collection? And damaged nerves would be a blessing now if it would stop her feeling the angry pulsations shooting up her arm.

Although, the fiery pain was doing a decent job distracting her from the nightmare that had woken her, so maybe it was a benefit. Even if the diabolic cackling still rang through her mind.

Her breathing began to even out. The raspy wheezing she’d woken with returning to steady, quiet inhalations. She dabbed her damp brow with the rough gauze wrapped from knuckle to wrist, willing the evil laughter to abate with the rest of the dream’s aftereffects.

A sudden rapping at her door disrupted the stillness of her room.

Syrena jerked from the bed, standing with the heavy furniture between herself and the unexpected visitor before she realized what she’d done.

With a nervous giggle, she rounded the four-poster to answer the second round of steady knocking.

Evie’s gloriously cheerful smile greeted her and Syrena couldn’t help but grin back, stepping to the side to allow the elegant girl to enter the room followed by Doug pushing the rolling rack over the threshold. Laden with gorgeous gowns and Chad’s fur-lined cape, Syrena wasn’t sure how Evie was able to so easily pluck her special made dress from the mass. But as the heavy gown was draped over waiting arms, she couldn’t find it in herself to question her friend’s wondrous talent.

“Cotillion is still happening?” the redhead asked, her dream forgotten in light of this new excitement. She hung the dress carefully within her large wardrobe, fingers tracing the lace detailing gingerly. She’d forgotten how exquisite it was. Had she really considered skipping cotillion, considered not wearing this magnificent creation, for something as mundane as sleep?

“It is,” Evie nodded. “Mal’s going. The four of us talked and it was good.”

Syrena watched the strange array of emotion play across her friend’s face. Whatever the VK’s had discussed wasn’t her business unless they chose to tell her, but she was glad the conclusion seemed to be favorable to all of them remaining in Auradon.

“She’s giving Ben another chance?”

Evie nodded once, her navy curls bouncing against her shoulders. Her red lips curled slightly upward.

“I’m glad.”

“Me too,” Evie whispered and then clapped her hands together with a gasp, her sunlit smile returning. “I almost forgot!”

Syrena couldn’t hide her curiosity as her friend practically skipped to Doug and the red box tote he had slung over his shoulder. She rooted through the contents secretly, her smile never fading as she retrieved the items she sought.

“I made a small addition to the dress, to go with your new,” her glittering chocolate eyes dipped down to the bandage wrapped around Syrena’s hand, “accessory.”

The redhead accepted the offered strips of folded powder blue lace that shimmered in the sunlight streaming through the window. She unfurled them, careful to avoid ripping the delicate fabric, and found two wrist length, fingerless gloves just the right length to cover her injury from questioning eyes.

“They’re beautiful, Evie, thank you!”

“That’s not all. You also have a gift from Dizzy.”

Syrena’s emerald eyes shot to meet her friend’s mischievous gaze.

“What?” she breathed, unbelieving that the small ginger-haired girl would do something so incredibly kind for someone she hardly knew.

But then, Dizzy had done a lot for Syrena in the short time they’d met.

Thinking about the sweet girl made her heart melt.

“We made it after making my bracelet. She saw yours and immediately had the idea.”

Slowly, the navy haired girl opened her palm and Syrena felt tears prickle her eyes at the stunning item resting there.

Gingerly, she lifted the dainty hair comb, inspecting the fine craftsmanship of it. The pale gold of the tri-prongs sparkled in the streaming sunlight. Her fingers brushed over the emerald crusted starfish topper. Edged with six larger, oval cut emeralds set in a three-tier pyramid nestled between two arms and backed with two pearlescent shells fanned across the back, it was the loveliest treasure Syrena had ever received.

“Oh, ‘Rena don’t cry. You’ll make me cry!” Evie whined, wrapping her arms around Syrena’s shoulders.

She tried to control her tears, wiping at her eyes with her gauze covered hand. When she opened her eyes and spotted Doug standing awkwardly to the side, hands in his pockets as he tried to look anywhere but at the emotional girls, her sobs made way for broken laughter.

Evie must have seen him too, quickly joining in the odd merriment with her own tinkling giggles.

They broke their embrace as their laughter died away. Dabbing daintily at their damp eyes and smiling at one another.

“I wish I could do something to thank her,” Syrena murmured, the sting of sadness a deep, unreachable itch against her heart.

“Me too,” Evie whispered back, squeezing her friend’s uninjured hand. “Me too.”

“Um, Evie?”

Doug cleared his throat, drawing two sets of eyes to him. He was still standing to the side, rocking back and forth on the heels of his loafers.

“You still have dresses to deliver!” Syrena gasped, disentangling their hands to wipe at the minute makeup smudges under Evie’s chocolate eyes gently. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you.”

The navy haired girl tittered, her own fingers coming to join Syrena’s on her cheeks. She shook out her mane of blue curls, adjusted her circlet headband and smiled her flawless, ruby smile.

“Beauty never rests,” she joked. With a final squeeze to the redhead’s uninjured hand, Evie grasped the rack of gowns and started for the still-open door, Doug trailing behind her casually, pushing the cart helpfully over the threshold.

“I’ll see you tonight!” Evie called over her shoulder gleefully.

The door clicked closed behind them, leaving Syrena alone in the silence of her single room. She looked down to the stunning hair comb clutched gingerly in her gauzy palm, thoughts of the young redheaded ball of energy and sass dancing through her mind.

What would Dizzy be doing, if she were attending cotillion with them tonight?

Helping Evie deliver dresses no doubt. But Syrena could also imagine the girl merrily prancing around her spacious dorm, dressed in one of Evie’s beautiful gowns. Would she allow Syrena to help her with her hair and makeup, or would the talented girl insist on doing Syrena’s?

The redhead didn’t want to just fantasize about it. Didn’t want to only have the what-ifs. She wanted to see Dizzy here, with Mal and Evie and any other Isle, or Auradon, friends who wanted to join them.

Her emerald eyes flicked to the small desk clock on her end table. There were still several hours until cotillion was set to begin.

She looked to the hair comb again, thumb brushing the rough gems studding the starfish and determination rushed through her. It drove her across the room, to the desk on the opposite side where her laptop lay open and ready.

The draft began simply. A title for the potential proclamation she planned to propose to Ben as soon as cotillion was over. Maybe even before, if she finished it quickly enough. And she would, she decided, as the words appeared across the document rapidly.

She’d read his original dictation, to bring the Core Four – yes, she liked the sound of that – to Auradon. There had been a plan in the works to bring more VK’s after them. This would just be an extension of that. A course of action. A next step.

They could start with applications, delivered to the Isle for any and all villain children to fill out, only if they wanted to, and submit to a committee who would determine in which order the children arrived.

All applicants would be accepted, eventually, but there would have to be an order to it. They couldn’t flood the school’s population too quickly. The campus wouldn’t support new enrollment in mass.

But four new students a semester, that could work.

It had worked already.

She tapped save on the document, saving a draft email where she would explain the attachment and rose with a satisfied grin.

She had two hours to get ready for cotillion now and was feeling as refreshed as if she’d been asleep this entire time. Tonight would be amazing. Whether Mal excepted becoming a Lady of the Court or not, they would make the best of it and celebrate the changing times as they had after Ben’s coronation.

Nothing could take this elation from her.

Not even the usually terrifying and excruciating trial of showering would bring her down.

Syrena stepped under the warm stream, feeling the stabbing pains of her scales as the water beat down on her. It hurt, like always, but there was something lesser about the glass shards slipping through her skin.

She washed away the Isle from her body. Scrubbed her hair until it was heavy silk clinging to her damp flesh. In the silence, as her mind reread over and over her proposal, she almost didn’t hear the whispered cackle in the back of her mind.

But she didn’t let it take her over.

The evil laugh was an echo from her nightmare. A product of all she’d endured on the Isle and the lack of sleep she’d gotten since Mal’s departure.

It didn’t mean anything more than that, after cotillion and after she brought her proclamation to Ben, she needed to sleep. Deep and restful.

Because this was Auradon, not the Isle and they were safe here.


	10. A Cotillion Unlike Any Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I only own Syrena.
> 
> Author's Note:
> 
> Y'all I had every intention of having this chapter up on Tuesday, however, the world plotted against me because the second I walked into my house on Tuesday (ready to wrap up the chapter and post it) I was handed my very disgruntled four-year-old niece who wanted me to do absolutely nothing except cuddle with her and watch her iPad.  
> And then Wednesday I was given the less disgruntled and much more excitable four-year-old niece again.  
> Let me tell you, it's really hard to write with an attention-seeking toddler screaming at you.  
> And then Friday my grandma and my aunt came into town for a super surprise visit. (They didn't tell anyone they were coming until they were in the driveway...) Which is super fun and exciting, but it also means I had to be a social person and not hide on my computer.  
> SO long story short, my week did not go as planned. But I managed to finish the chapter and here it is!
> 
> Thank you to VeraWA and StephLauren for your support and reviews! As always, they warm my heart and I'm always so excited to reply and talk about my work and all the side bits of information that I don't have places for in the actual story. I always love reading your feelings about each chapter and seeing which parts and elements stuck out enough to be brought up in the comments. It's the highlight of my day when I see them in my inbox :)
> 
> And finally, I have (tried) to include a picture for this chapter. This is my first attempt at an outfit board? (is that what you call it?) So I apologize that it isn't the greatest, I'm working on getting better.  
> But I've really wanted to do one for a while because I'm a very visual person, so when I'm reading I like to have some reference when it comes to clothing or character appearance and I figured there are probably other people like that and maybe some of them are reading this. So the outfit is Syrena's cotillion dress.
> 
> If you like the outfit board and would like more of them, let me know! And on the reverse, if you hate it and think it detracts from the story, let me know that as well.
> 
> Now, without further ado, the story! Enjoy!

The blue carpet stretched further than Syrena could see through the mass of reporters and photographers lined up to take the first shots of cotillion attendees. The flashes of their cameras were nearly blinding, their voices loud, deafening, as they shouted questions. But next to Evie, Syrena felt no anxiety stepping up on the small pedestal set up for photo ops.

She smiled brightly at the cameras, posing prettily with her friend even as microphones were shoved at them almost viciously.

“Evie, you look beautiful!” someone screamed from the crowd and Syrena’s grin widened, her hands pushing gently on the gorgeous girl’s back so she was more the focus.

As the main designer of the evening it was only fitting that the navy haired girl was in the spotlight. It would be another fantastic way to get her label, Evie4Hearts, into the world.

“Did you design the barrette?” another voice called as Evie turned her pose so each of Dizzy’s accessories was on display.

Syrena did the same for a photographer excitedly flapping his hand in her direction.

If the young fashionista was watching on the Isle, Syrena wanted to make sure that she could see her gift being proudly displayed.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Evie asked the crowd, fingers delicately touching the golden crown jutting from her flawless blue curls. “Uh, no, it’s not my creation. Many of the hair accessories this evening are by a fabulous new designer, Dizzy of the Isle.”

Syrena clapped at the announcement, smiling with Evie towards the camera.

She really hoped Dizzy was watching.

As they moved off the dais, Doug met Evie with his hand extended to help her step down. Syrena smiled at him gratefully as he offered her the same assistance, though much less dotingly.

“Thank you, Doug,” she told him as the trio walked up the gangplank onto the ship.

Lights shined out to them, beckoning and enticing as the pulsing beat of the DJ’s music vibrated through her. The upbeat sound made her want to dance even before they were close enough to hear the words.

“As much as I love this train, it’s incredibly difficult to walk with so much weight behind you,” she teased, playfully nudging Evie’s side.

It wasn’t a joke entirely. The leather scales decorating the train added enough extra weight that Syrena felt the need to keep looking over her shoulder to ensure she hadn’t snagged anything.

“All beauty comes with a price, dearie,” Evie sang back, apple red lips curled in a smile.

Her chocolate brown eyes glimmered excitedly, dancing with pride over each dress she’d designed. The girls wearing them each smiled at her in turn, offering silent looks of thanks as they passed.

Syrena looked over them as well, each of her classmates looked stunning in their Evie Original, but she couldn’t help feeling that her own was more beautiful.

It was a conceited thought, but she allowed herself the small feeling of superiority knowing that she’d been the first Auradonian to wear an Evie Original and that each item Evie had crafted for Syrena since was made with keen attention and love.

“Do you see Jay or Carlos?” Evie asked, drawing Syrena from her thoughts.

Her eyes drifted down over the crowd to search out the easily noticeable pair. From the top of the steps, they had a clear view of the entire deck filled with teens in swirling gowns and dapper suits and edged with guards and chaperones.

“There’s Carlos,” the redhead pointed to the white-haired boy.

He stood with his dark eyes locked on Jane’s face, their hands clasped together as they moved to the music. The young fairy daughter was lovely in her powder blue gown, the giant pink ribbon tied around her waist highlighting her full, hourglass figure perfectly.

Syrena grinned. Her friends looked so happy together, oblivious to the mass of people around them as they danced to the music.

“Jane looks amazing!”

“She does,” Evie agreed. “Should we go join them?”

Syrena glanced between the budding couple and then back to Evie with a shake of her head.

“Let them have some time to themselves. I’m sure Fairy Godmother has already intruded and made things super awkward.”

“You’re right, let’s go do a lap and say hi to everyone.”

Loose red curls bobbed with her nod of agreement and the trio moved down the stairs as one. Her eyes drifted to Doug and Evie’s hands, still clasped together. The son of Dopey hadn’t moved his adoring gaze from the navy haired girl since he’d taken her hand at the dais and she was reminded of another couple deserving of some time alone.

“Hey, you two go ahead. I just remembered I need to, um…talk to Lumiere about something…” Syrena announced awkwardly as they reached the deck.

Evie’s brow cocked elegantly, lips pursing in a frown.

“What are you-”

“Really, go ahead. I’ll catch up,” the redhead interrupted with a wave of her hand, backing away carefully until she was able to turn and disappear into the crowd with a smile. Evie’s confused call was drowned out by the music and conversations around her. But from her new perch by the refreshments table, she could see that Doug, at least, had gotten the hint.

He led Evie away from the stairs and onto the dance floor with gentle tugs against their joined hands until his girlfriend returned her attention to him.

Syrena watched with a smile as the couple moved together. Evie’s beaming grin lighting up the floor as Doug twirled and swayed with her.

She’d always believed that Evie deserved the devotion Doug offered her. Despite what the Evil Queen had taught her, the navy haired princess was worth more than her skill in cooking and cleaning. Doug was the perfect non-prince charming to help her see that. But after everything on the Isle, after witnessing first-hand how her friends had lived before Ben’s proclamation, it became even more clear that Evie and the other VKs deserved every good thing Auradon had to offer them and then some.

And it was starting to seem like they were each off to a good start, finding someone who could show them how much they were worth.

“Why is it that every time there’s a party I manage to find you in the shadows, Wallflower?”

Syrena smiled softly at the joking tone, tilting her head back to look up at Jay.

“Why is it that every time there’s a party, you’re sent to find me?”

Jay shrugged, drawing her attention to the broadness of his shoulders moving under the red, yellow and blue leather suit jacket Evie had crafted for him and then up to his mirthful eyes, cocky half-smirk and finally the coiffed bun his long hair had been pulled into.

It was easy to see why the majority of the female population of Auradon Prep was infatuated with the boy.

He was handsome and talented, smarter than he gave himself credit for, and funnier than any of their friends liked to admit. But he was also caring and kind with a level of loyalty that was mostly unseen in Auradon’s younger generation.

“How’s your hand?”

Syrena lifted her lace covered hand for his inspection, flexing her fingers a bit to show him that she wasn’t permanently damaged.

“I’m good. Merriweather fixed me up. What’s one more, right?”

Jay huffed a laugh, thumb tracing the raised bandage under the lace glove.

“Think you’re up to a dance?”

She grinned at him, wrinkling her nose.

“Only if you promise not to step on my feet this time,” she teased.

“I’ve gotten better!”

She arched a brow at him, following him into the mass of bodies at the center of the deck.

“I have!” he insisted.

“If you say so,” she shrugged, placing her uninjured hand in his as they started swaying in sync with the people around them.

“Good, you found her.”

“I told you I’d catch up,” Syrena protested as Jay spun her out to meet Evie.

The girl’s moved together, slow and controlled against the confining fabrics of their dresses. It was fun and easy, twisting and turning and laughing, switching between partners. Syrena had joked that it was so Jay could dance on Evie’s feet for a little while but had smiled and winked good-naturedly at the affronted boy.

Somewhere in the excitement the pairs were separated by the crowd, leaving Syrena with Jay when the music ceased suddenly and the trumpets rose in anticipation.

The deck fell silent, save for applause scattered amongst the frozen attendees with eyes focused on the staircase to see which guest of honor was arriving.

Syrena’s hand clutched at Jay’s, nervous butterflies fluttering madly in her stomach. She was grateful when he squeezed back reassuringly.

The trumpets erupted with fanfare. Hundreds of eyes watched Lumiere step forward. Syrena held her breath. Waiting, hoping, for Mal to appear.

Evie had said that they’d talked, that Mal was okay and going to give Ben another chance. And that she would give herself another chance to be the Lady and Queen that Auradon deserved.

Syrena just hoped her friend was right.

“The future Lady Mal!” Lumiere announced.

A tug on her hand drew her eyes away from the man to find that Lonnie had joined them and was waving her hand for them to follow her closer to the front of the crowd.

They did, cutting through the other guests with elated smiles. Syrena spotted Carlos and Jane doing the same from the other direction until they all flanked Evie and Doug.

Looping her arm through Lonnie’s, Syrena kept both the warrior daughter and Jay close to her as a nervy giggle slipped from her throat followed by a soft gasp.

Mal was stunning. There wasn’t another thought in Syrena’s head as the girl emerged. Between the fine craftsmanship of Evie’s dress and the orchid haired girl’s natural beauty, she looked every bit a Lady of Court standing before her subjects. Even the trepidation in her eyes couldn’t detract from the marvel of her presence before them.

The redhead leaned around Lonnie to smile proudly at Evie, but her friend was oblivious to anything other than vision before them.

Evie’s clapping broke through the stillness of the ship, followed by her cheering whoop of approval.

Syrena grinned as Doug and Carlos joined in the celebratory call quickly. Jay released her hand gingerly to applaud and the redhead used it to add her own exuberance to the growing sounds.

Her claps were less forceful than those of her companions, but what she lacked in hand beating, she made up for with jovial words shouted louder than any other.

Cheer squad was good for something after all.

The excitement continued while Mal descended the stairs with careful steps. The flicker of relief when Beast stepped forward to support her was not missed, but Syrena didn’t point it out. She wouldn’t. It was a small show of how far they’d come from only a few days ago. That she was readily accepting help, even for something so inconsequential as walking, was certainly a step in the right direction.

Another swell of pride grew within her. Baby steps were good, they showed progress and progress was all she needed to know that Mal would be a wonderful queen.

Evie drew Mal away from the royal parents to join their group and they circled around her, a show of offered strength and support if their friend should need it.

“Look, we’re right here with you, okay?” Evie reminded, squeezing Mal’s hands in hers.

“Okay,” Mal breathed back.

Her eyes drifted around the circle, taking in each of them in turn with a growing calm.

“Okay,” she repeated, firmer this time. Her fingers curling around Evie’s to return the reassurance with gratitude.

The trumpets started again. Guest’s eyes returned to Lumiere, hushed expectation and excitement for the king’s arrival swirling through the crowd.

Evie and Mal squealed and giggled, an escape for the pent-up energy inside them.

“King Benjamin!” Lumiere called jovially to another round of cheers and applause.

Syrena watched Mal’s face light up as the young king stepped into the spotlight, her pink lips spread in a wide smile.

She recognized that smile. It was one she’d seen at the tourney match when Ben professed his love for Mal in front of their whole school with a lively song and dance. She’d seen it again after Maleficent was defeated and Ben unfroze ready to fight only to be informed that the VK’s had wrapped the battle up already.

It was the happiest she ever saw the orchid haired girl who’d come to Auradon, angry and mistrusting, with a plan for revenge that wasn’t hers.

The cheers quieted as Ben approached the top of the stairs. In a rustle of heavy dresses and suits the room bowed and curtsied as one.

But as they rose and Ben approached the group, Syrena could sense something…off about the king. His stance was ridged and hesitant, eyes downcast as he bowed to Mal.

Mal must have felt it too, her exultant smile diminishing as she returned the gesture.

Syrena felt tense against an uncomfortable fluttering in her chest. It felt like something heavy was pressing against her, making it hard to breathe. Her dress felt suddenly too tight, the deck of the ship too small and the crowd of people too close.

And then her wrist exploded in searing pain.

Clasping her hand over the bracelet that felt more like molten lava then delicate gold she jerked her emerald gaze over the attendees again, searching for a source, for something she’d missed.

Her experiences with this phenomenon were limited. But the last time the band had scalded her so terribly had been just before Maleficent burst into the cathedral at Ben’s coronation.

She looked to Mal, but the fey daughter was not exuding any magical energy that she could see. Even if she was, her strange slip before she’d escaped to the Isle hadn’t garnered as severe of a reaction from the accessory. Why would it do so now?

Slipping from her place between Jay and Lonnie, Syrena moved to Evie’s side. The warning was on the tip of her tongue to whisper into her friend’s ear when Ben began to speak.

“Mal, I wish I had time to explain.”

In the silence of the ship, doors could be heard opening at the top of the stairs.

Lumiere appeared for the third time but didn’t name the new arrival. He seemed as confused as the rest of them. Instead, he stepped out of the way to reveal the pirate girl they’d left behind on the Isle.

Gone were her ragged, handmade clothes of leather and denim, replaced with a dress that could rival one of Evie’s designs. The heavy ruffles of aqua and white tulle flowed and shifted around her like gentle ocean waves as she stepped into full view of the murmuring crowd.

Syrena heard Mal’s soft gasp but was frozen in place, too stunned to move and comfort her friend. Evie seemed to be in the same position, her mind unable to process what was happening.

Instead, the trio watched Ben go to the party crasher, trance-like enthrallment dictating his movements.

He reached for her as she descended the stairs, taking her hand to help her as Beast had helped Mal. He escorted her down the steps slowly and walking together like that, they were the picture of a royal couple.

Syrena felt her heart break apart in her chest for Mal.

This wasn’t possible.

Ben had risked so much to go to the Isle and bring Mal back to Auradon. So why was he showing off his kidnapper to the spectators of Mal’s cotillion?

At the foot of the stairs, he displayed the unwelcome guest to his parents and then, much to Syrena’s horror, took Uma’s hand and bowed to kiss his family ring where it rested on her pointer finger.

“I’m sorry. It all happened so fast,” Ben told Mal as he and Uma returned to the group.

The orchid haired girl was dumbstruck, staring with wide, unblinking eyes filled with confusion as they darted between the gleeful smile on the girl-captain’s face and her…

…whatever Ben was to her now.

“Something happened to me when I was on the Isle with Uma,” he went on, seemingly oblivious to the hate-filled, angry stares directed towards him. “A connection.”

Syrena felt her own ire rise as the wicked pirate girl nodded happily along to his words. The besotted look in her mahogany eyes made the redhead want to lunge for her, to finish what they’d started on the Isle.

If she had one of the training blades on hand, she might have run the evil girl through on principle alone.

“What are you saying?” Mal asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“I’m saying-”

“It was love,” Uma interrupted with a girlish giggle that seemed wrong coming from her.

Everything Syrena knew about this girl said she was far from anything remotely girly. Even wearing a fancy dress and a lovesick smile, it was clear she was a pretender among them. She wasn’t a princess, wasn’t Auradonian.

She was Isle, through and through.

“I just…I realized how alike Ben and I are, you know?” the aqua girl continued, turning to face Ben fully.

The heartbreak on Mal’s face was incomprehensible.

How could someone go from the happiest they’d ever been to the most broken in a few mere moments?

Syrena wanted to grab Ben and shake him, scream at him.

How could he do this to Mal? To all of them who’d gone with him to the Isle because they believed in them. And then fought for him, risked themselves for him.

Did it mean so little to the boy king that he would bring the enemy to this night that was supposed to be about Mal and the future she would welcome as a Lady of the Court and future queen?

“Ben…” Mal whimpered, her lower lip trembling.

Syrena had seen enough of this cruel behavior, stepping forward to wrap her hands around Mal’s bare arms comfortingly. She offered the strength and support they’d promised her earlier in the evening when everything seemed the start of a happily ever after.

The girl jolted at the touch, but it seemed like exactly what she needed.

“Ben,” she called again, her voice harder now. Firm enough to draw both Uma and Ben’s eyes away from each other to face the betrayed girl.

“Did you go back for her?” Mal demanded.

In her heated glaring at Ben, Syrena saw a flicker in his eyes at the question. Something uncertain and…disoriented maybe?

His lips parted on a word that never came as Uma interrupted again.

“He didn’t have to.”

Ben’s gaze dropped from Mal again, watching the pirate girl shrug and shake her head as if the explanation she was about to give embarrassed her.

“I dove through the barrier before it closed and I’m an excellent swimmer.”

It was an unintentional dig because there was no way this girl could know anything about Syrena or her condition. But the way the aqua girl’s mahogany gaze flicked to the redhead momentarily as the words left her lips brought the shadow of doubt to Syrena’s mind.

“You are,” Ben cooed.

Uma smiled at him, a false modesty in the pursed stretch of her lips.

“Aw, thank you.”

Syrena’s bracelet shot another wave of fire up her arm. She fought the urge to hiss and shake away the pain, a difficult feat but she managed.

She couldn’t surrender her grip on Mal for something as trivial as discomfort. She had promised to stand with her friend, to be unwavering in her aid and she refused to go back on her word.

But there was something about the way the bracelet seemed to almost pulse its radiating heat through her, like a heartbeat. But it wasn’t in time to Syrena’s own heart, which was beating in time to a hummingbird’s wings. This was a steady, firm rhythm. Smooth and unencumbered by the fear and anger Syrena was feeling.

It was the heartbeat of someone confident and unaffected by the tension looming over the ship like a shroud.

Her eyes moved to Uma again, narrowing on the girl as a realization struck.

_The heartbeat of someone who’d won._

The nautilus shell hanging from a pale gold chain around Uma’s neck was as familiar as it was daunting as Syrena recognized it.

She’d heard stories of that necklace her entire life. The heart of Ursula’s magic and a sister piece to Syrena’s bracelet made from King Triton’s trident. It was the story that came to her now as pieces began to fall into place in her mind.

When the trident had been Poseidon’s, he’d crafted two items from the divine instrument as gifts to his children.

One had been a ring, thin and golden, for his son, Triton.

Upon his wedding day to the mer-queen Athena, her grandfather had made a simple request of his father to remake the ring into a bracelet for the bride. She had worn it until the day she died. Triton had kept it until the day of Syrena’s birth when it was bequeathed to her.

The second gift had been to his daughter, Ursula. The nautilus shell shape meant to represent her eternal growth as a princess of the sea and guardian of her people.

The magic of the shell had been tainted and tarnished as Ursula began delving into a darker art that ultimately led her to betray her brother and their people. And when she tried to use the shell’s magic to steal the trident, the power within had backfired and turned her from mermaid to cecaelia.

Her thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as Mal tensed against her.

Uma was holding her hands, stepping into the orchid haired girl’s personal space with a contrite look contorting her features.

“Listen, Mal,” the sea-witch daughter started, eyes locked with Mal’s, “I just really want to thank you, I do, for everything.”

In the next moment, Syrena was forced to release her hold on her friend as Uma pulled the uncomfortable and distraught girl into a tight embrace.

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” Uma whispered.

Mal’s body was rigid against the hold, her hands held up at Uma’s back as silent sobs wracked her.

Syrena kept her glare fixated on Uma, ready to defend her friend should the villainous girl try anything sinister.

“Don’t you see, Mal? You were right.”

Ben appeared at Uma’s shoulder. Syrena returned as well, one hand rested on Mal’s arm in a gentle, reassuring embrace. She tried to will as much strength as she could into her friend as Ben continued his justification speech.

“You knew that we weren’t meant to be together. That’s why you never told me that you loved me.”

Mal’s body buckled but Syrena didn’t flinch as she supported her friend, keeping her righted even as she knew everything in the girl was telling her to crumple and fall.

“Thank you,” Ben finished. Leaving Mal at a loss for words.

The redhead tried to tug her away into the safety of their friends as the new couple retreated and the band began to play. She was grateful when Evie joined her, taking Mal’s hand into her own and helping to lead her in the opposite direction of the sickening pair dancing away as if they were the only people in the world.

“Come on,” Evie whispered and Mal turned with her.

Syrena released her into better care but followed close behind, even as she kept her head turned to watch Ben.

She couldn’t believe he’d do this. But something deep inside whispered that she should have known after he’d done the same thing to Audrey.

The only difference had been Mal’s love spell cookie…

The realization was like a physical blow.

The bracelet hadn’t been reacting to Uma or her necklace, not entirely anyway. It had been sensing the magic of the love spell Ben was under.

Because it would have taken a large sum of magic to yield such quick results without a means of transporting the spell into Ben.

The cookie had been Mal’s catalyst, which had made the spell stronger. Uma wouldn’t have had time to make something edible and even if she had, Ben wouldn’t have eaten it.

Or, well, she hoped he wouldn’t have. Although his reluctance to leave the ship at their initial rescue suggested he may have been gullible enough to fall for the same “beware of treats offered by the children of villains” bit again.

Syrena was so lost in trying to piece everything together in her mind, readying herself to tell the others her theories, when a flash of powder blue and pink rushed past her.

_Jane?_

She turned to face her friends rallied around Mal in a protective circle. Jay had a hand on the girl’s arm, ready to lead her from the ship entirely.

“Come on,” Evie murmured to her as the group moved as one around the dancing couple and towards the exit.

Syrena shook her head, grabbing Evie and pulling her to a halt.

“No, E, wait!” she whispered back.

She flinched against the hard chocolate glare her friend leveled her with, the possibility of a second betrayal setting her on edge.

“I think Ben’s been spelled,” she hissed quickly, fighting the urge to cow under the hateful look she’d never seen on Evie’s face before. It diminished in an instant, red lips parting on a question that they didn’t have time for.

Syrena lifted her dress and tugged Evie after her, as they rushed to grab Mal before she and Jay reached the top of the stairs.

Evie’s red gloved hand landed on the small of Mal’s back, Syrena only a step behind ready to tell her friends what was happening when Lumiere’s voice rose above them.

“And now, for the unveiling of King Ben’s masterpiece, designed especially for his lady.”

The trumpets’ fanfare was deafening at this close proximity, but their group turned where Lumiere directed them as one of the guards tugged a blue cover down from a gilded frame.

There was an eruption of surprised and awed breaths around the ship, Syrena’s among them.

The stained-glass window was a traditional piece. Each of the original royals had one proudly displayed along the high walls of the opulent cathedral.

She’d spent many of her younger years admiring their beauty, imagining as a young girl that she would someday have one of her own.

She knew each of them with perfect clarity, could name the exact colors used to accentuate the fantastical elements depicted in each scene.

And none of them compared to the stunning visage of this one.

Applause rang out, onlookers marveling at the work of art, but their opinions didn’t matter. Syrena turned on the step to see Mal’s face and the smile that was beginning to appear there.

“Ben did that?” She asked breathily, eyes unwilling to part from her gift.

“Yeah, he did,” Evie and Syrena replied in unison.

Mal whimpered again, a small sound of joy as she sniffed back tears.

“Evie, Ben’s known who I was all along.”

The pair moved down the stairs slowly, hands clasped together. Syrena joined them as they went, cupping Mal’s free hand in between both of hers.

“He loves the real you, M,” Evie agreed.

“A true love,” Mal breathed, almost disbelieving as the words left her.

“Yeah,” Syrena nodded.

“Told you,” Evie added and Mal laughed, a forced, choked sound through the swelling emotions inside her.

Syrena opened her mouth to tell her friend about Uma’s deceit, but the voice and words that rang across the deck were not her own.

“Cover that back up!” the pirate demanded, leaving Ben in favor of crossing the deck towards Lumiere.

“I will not!” the man protested, startled but otherwise unfazed by the aggression displayed.

Syrena watched with a derisive smirk as the girl backpedaled, returning to the false modesty and demure behavior she’d come onto the ship with.

Ariel had always said Ursula hadn’t been able to control her temper. It seemed the same was true for her daughter.

“Um, uh…why don’t you tell everyone the present you have for me, Ben?” Uma suggested, tone pleasant and sweet again.

There was a moment of hesitation as Ben looked away from his stained-glass window to the girl-captain. He looked lost and confused for the briefest second before his gaze reconnected with Uma’s.

The spell was waning.

“I have an announcement!”

His voice carried around the ship, echoing off the water around them to reverberate through the night sky.

“Uma will be joining the court tonight as my lady.”

“Son-” Beast tried to interfere.

“Not now, dad!”

The roar of Ben’s voice was inhuman. Syrena felt herself flinch against the beastly nature of it. In their years of friendship, she’d never heard him sound like that before and never towards his father. It startled and worried her.

And she wasn’t the only one. Next to her, Mal looked shocked by the outburst, her gray eyes wide and mouth agape. Evie’s furrowed brow and firmly set mouth were calculating with an edge of disappointment in the chocolate depths.

Even Ben seemed disconcerted by the reaction. He cleared his throat, tugging the collar of his shirt as he began his declaration again.

“Uh, so as my gift to her, I’m bringing down the barrier once and for all!”

Panicked gasps erupted around the crowd. Eyes met everywhere, searching for an indication that this was all an elaborate hoax set forth by the young king. They waited, desperate for a reveal that would never come. And with each second that ticked by, fear set in deeper. There would be hysteria soon. The apprehension would make way for it.

Just like it had on Family Day.

The people would react with anger, turning on their friends, the VK’s and then their king.

“Fairy Godmother,” Ben addressed the elder woman, hand outstretched towards her in a grand gesture.

Beside him, Uma’s demure smile shifted to a cold smirk and the steady pulse of heat at Syrena’s wrist quickened.

Excitement and adrenalin were beginning to kick in for the girl-captain as she stood on the precipice of her victory.

“Bring down the barrier.”

“I most certainly will not,” the matron snapped back, fingers clutching tighter around her wand.

“I am your king!” Ben snarled, another spike of the beast within him emerging.

“Obey him,” Uma demanded to another chorus of gasps.

Syrena grabbed Mal’s arm, jerking the girl’s attention to her.

“Mal, Ben’s been spelled. Uma did something to him.”

Their friends closed in around them, the protective circle they’d formed around their orchid leader taking the defensive as Syrena’s words set in.

“Uma found your spellbook,” Evie predicted.

They recalled it now, Mal had dropped the book in their quick escape from the Isle. None of them had even considered the cunning pirate would find it in the alley, let alone figure out a plan to use it.

They’d been foolish to think that was the last they’d see of the methodical girl.

Irritation flooded Syrena.

If Mal had turned the book over to Fairy Godmother like she was supposed to, none of this would have happened. If she hadn’t run away to the Isle, Uma wouldn’t have been given the opportunity she was making good use of now. If she’d just come to them in the beginning when the pressures of becoming a Lady were getting to be too much…

A surge of electric heat soared up Syrena’s arm, popping like a static shock against Mal’s arm where the redhead had her hand.

The orchid haired girl flinched, wincing slightly against the inconsequential pain. Confusion clouded her soft eyes as they shifted between Syrena’s face and the hand that had zapped her.

Syrena jerked her hand back, cradling it against her chest. Her eyes met Mal’s wide with uneasy bewilderment.

The moment passed swiftly, unacknowledged by their friends and Syrena felt her frustration fade as quickly as the current had come.

There were bigger concerns to face. But the look Mal gave her said that this wasn’t a conversation that was going to be forgotten.

They just had to get past Uma first.

Uma was whispering something to Ben, her hand resting on his shoulder as she motioned for him to keep looking at her.

“Look at his gift, Mal,” Syrena urged. “You can break whatever hold she has on him. It’s fading already, she can’t maintain the spell. You can do this.”

Mal’s eyes stared across the ship, taking in again the colorful depiction of herself and her king.

She took a small step forward. Then another. And then, with a resolute nod, she descended the final stair.

“Ben,” she called, her voice strong and sure as she moved towards the pair.

Uma shifted to stand ahead of the king, blocking her rival’s approach but Mal wasn’t stopping.

“Ben,” she repeated, ignoring the pirate girl. Her gaze locked with Ben’s soft, hazel orbs. “Look at me.”

The order was gentle but steady.

The heartbeat at Syrena’s wrist doubled in speed.

“No, look at me,” Uma demanded, turning her body so that she and Mal stood shoulder to shoulder, fighting for the king’s attention. “You love me, remember?”

“No, you don’t,” Mal murmured, coral lips spread into a sure smile. Her purple curls swayed lightly around her face as her head shook.

“Yes, you do.”

“Ben, look at me,” the future Lady encouraged.

It was Uma’s turn to feel panicked. Her heavy dress swirled around her as she fisted the thick tulle, twirling towards Fairy Godmother wildly.

“Bring down the barrier now!” she screamed.

“I do not take orders from you!” the matron fairy hissed.

“Ben?”

The desperation in Uma’s tone was satisfying, more so than the anxious fluttering pulse of her heart.

Syrena pressed her fingers against the scalding emeralds embedded in her bracelet, but the heat of them didn’t hurt. Not really. With each pulse, a static charge zapped against her flesh like the electric fence around the stables of Beast Castle.

Audrey had dared Syrena to touch it once when they’d been small children spending their summer with Ben and his family.

She had, of course. Back then Syrena had done everything Audrey told her to without question or hesitation.

With her fingers pressed against the shining gems of her band now, she recalled the intense, vibrating sensation that had seized her arm the moment her tiny fist had closed around the metal wire. The only difference was that she wasn’t afraid of these tiny, electric stings like she had been on that summer day so many years ago.

Because, today, it felt like she could take control of the current.

And with each forceful pound of Uma’s racing heart charging the emeralds, Syrena became more enticed with the idea.

“Ben, I never told you that I loved you because I thought that I wasn’t good enough.”

Mal’s desperate giggle drew Syrena away from the thought. The imploring honesty in her voice kept Ben’s eyes gaze bound to hers as her monologue continued.

“And I thought that it was only a matter of time before you realized that yourself. But, Ben, that’s me!”

Her hand flung out towards the stained-glass masterpiece and Ben followed the motion in a daze.

Syrena clasped her hands together, pleading with Mal to break Uma’s spell. She was halfway there already. The redhead could see it in the lessoning daze of Ben’s hazel eyes. He just needed the final push to remember.

“I’m part Isle and part Auradon.”

“Ben, eyes over here,” Uma growled, seizing the boy’s arm and pulling his eyes back to her.

But it didn’t work.

Even as his head faced Uma, his eyes remained steadfast on Mal.

It was working.

“Come on, Mal,” Syrena breathed.

She heard Evie’s hum of agreement next to her and a glance to her left showed the navy haired girl in a similar state. Her red gloved hands were laced together at her chin, her perfectly glossed lower lip trapped between her teeth in anxious anticipation.

Syrena wanted to reach out and take her friend’s hand, but the pulsing heat rushing up her arm kept her still.

“And, Ben, you’ve always known who we were and who we can be.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Uma tried again. And again, Ben ignored her.

“Ben, I know what love feels like now,” Mal breathed with a soft laugh. “Ben, of course I love you. Ben, I’ve always loved you.”

The collective breaths of the spectators released in unison as Mal reached out to pull the king into a kiss.

Syrena heard Evie’s soft, sobbing giggle beside her and the pair shared a smile.

Mal pulled away slowly, watching Ben’s eyes clear of the love spell Uma had cast. Her smile was pure and light as she saw a matching grin spread across the king’s face.

Syrena took her earlier declaration back.

This was the happiest she’d ever seen her friend. Either of them.

“Mal,” Ben breathed, but no words followed the prayerful way he uttered her name. Instead, he pressed his forehead against hers and delighted in the closeness of his future queen.

“True love’s kiss,” Evie murmured.

Syrena smiled at the romantic, longing look on her friend’s face, nudging her gently with her shoulder.

“Works every time,” the redhead agreed.

Uma’s outraged cry returned the crowd to the lingering, aqua clad problem.

She fisted her skirt tighter and charged towards Fairy Godmother, her eyes wild and filled with rage.

Syrena’s wrist exploded in the most intense burst of flame she’d ever felt the bracelet produce and she couldn’t hold back the small cry of pain that tore from her throat.

“Give it to me!” the pirate screamed, drowning out the redhead’s distress as the others moved to stop Uma from reaching the wand.

“No! Guards seize her!” the headmistress called and immediately the mass of yellow and blue-clad men emerged to descend upon the girl.

They weren’t quick enough.

As the realization of her failure dawned, Uma retreated from Fairy Godmother and ran towards the rail of the ship.

Syrena fought against the debilitating pain of the girl’s panic, moving with the crowd to cage Uma in place.

“No, no!” Mal shouted from the front of the mob. Her arms were outstretched, holding everyone back.

“Stop, please! Stop!” she cried, not to the Auradonians this time, but to Uma.

From this close proximity, Syrena didn’t need the bracelet to tell her what the pirate girl was feeling, it was clearly etched across the girl’s mocha features. Her mahogany eyes were wide and streaked back and forth across the mass of faces surrounding her.

She was looking for an escape or a weakness to exploit. A way to run.

“Uma, I know you,” Mal continued, hand still outstretched towards the desperate girl. “You are so much more than just a villain. And you have to believe me because I’ve been there.

“Do not let your pride get in the way of something that you really want.”

Mal’s imploring speech seemed to calm Uma. The heaving of her chest was slowing, the pulsing of her heart becoming more controlled.

But Syrena could see something familiar in the mahogany depths, still flicking uneasily over the people who she presumed as enemies.

She’d seen the same frantic need for freedom in Mal’s eyes the day she ran away and when they’d sat together on the bench and the hopeless lady-in-training had broken down and confessed her fears.

She’d seen it in the mirror too before she’d been released from Audrey’s cruel hold and found true friendship in Evie. It had manifested in the moments when someone had gotten too close, had almost seen her scars or her scales and Syrena had sought the same escape.

But Uma was bolder than Mal had been that day, was more cunning than Syrena would ever be. And Syrena’s dream flashed through her mind.

Her bracelet burned again, drawing her emerald eyes up to the shell around Uma’s neck, pulsing in time to the energy resonating against her skin.

_The blinding white glow._

Uma’s eyes drifted down to see her mother’s necklace pulsing with hazy white light. Mal saw it to and took a hesitant step forward. And then another when the trapped girl didn’t move.

_The splash of water._

Syrena saw the quirk of Uma’s lips, recognized that she’d found her path to freedom, and knew without a doubt what the shrewd girl was about to do.

“No!” she shouted at the same time as Mal.

But it was too late.

The pirate girl was already climbing the rails of the ship with practiced ease and leaping into the dark water below.


	11. A Cotillion Unlike Any Other Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I still only own Syrena. If I owned more, I wouldn't have to work so often and could write and post more.
> 
> Author's Note:
> 
> HELLO ALL!
> 
> We are facing the end now and I am so ready to get to D3!
> 
> This was a difficult chapter to write and it went completely against my original plan, but it's here and, in the end, I'm happy with it and I hope you all are too.
> 
> As always, I want to give special thanks to VeraWA and StephLauren for their constant support, kind words and often inspiring and thought-provoking comments.
> 
> VeraWA: I hope everything is calming down in the aftermath of storm Ciara. I've been trying to follow the stories since you mentioned it. I hope you and your family are safe and sound :)
> 
> StephLauren: I'm really glad that you liked the outfit board, I'm so excited to reveal the one I've already made up for D3. I hope that Syrena continues to impress you through this chapter and throughout D3.
> 
> And now, without further ado, chapter 11!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!

It was a mad rush as everyone swarmed against the railing to stare into the black water after Uma.

Syrena and Mal led the mass of bodies, their eyes searching the darkness for any sign of the pirate girl within the waves. The full moon and the lights of the ship offered little in the way of help, reflecting off the surface of the water instead of breaching the darkness below.

And then, distorted by the waves, an eerie yellow light glowed ominously against the black background of the bay’s depths.

The light swirled under the waves…

… no, the light wasn’t moving. The waves were.

The once calm water was churning in an angry vortex. The yellow glow growing, bigger and brighter, as the whirlpool quickened and rose.

Terrified gasps rang across the deck, but no one’s eyes left the rising force of nature.

Syrena’s bracelet seared her wrist.

Gone were the heartbeat pulsations. Left in their wake was a continuous, burning pain that should have had her screaming in agony. But her mind couldn’t process anything beyond the giant, angry cyclone rising from the bay until it towered over the ship.

Lightning burst from the cloudless sky, illuminating the menacing spiral.

In the split second before the ship shattered into chaos, Syrena’s dream once more flashed through her mind and she knew what was coming.

But just as she’d been unable to flee from the torrential spray of water in her dream, she found herself trapped against the rail by the mass of bodies surrounding her. Panic seized her as realization and resignation set in.

The terrible vortex erupted, sending icy water to drench the ship and all its occupants. Syrena turned from the spray, dropping to the deck with her arms curled around her head in a desperate but futile attempt to protect herself. Around her, many others did the same. Some tried to run from the rush of water, slipping and sliding dangerously across the polished floor. Others, like Carlos and Jay, fell to the ground at the railing, unable to keep their footing as the ship heaved and swayed with the now volatile water slamming heavily against the side of the vessel.

Above the sounds of panicked and indignant screams and heavy splashing water, Syrena could hear laughter echoing around her, but she couldn’t bring herself to focus on the sound. The feeling of a thousand tiny needles shoving their way through her kept her curled into herself, a despairing hope to ease her pain.

Shivers wracked her frame, the freezing water seeping into her dress, weighing the fabric down until it clung to her skin. She could feel the scales along her sides catching the delicate material as they pushed free.

“Syrena?”

Leather-covered hands fell against her bare arms, feeling the knife-edged protrusions against calloused fingers. She jerked away with a shriek, but the hands didn’t give up.

“Syrena, how do I help?”

Jay’s dark eyes were wide and frantic, his face contorted in distress. His hands hovered over her, uncertain where to touch.

Wet red curls shifted as her head shook. Thick and heavy and soaking wet, the tresses released rapid rivulets of icy water down her shoulders and back, bringing forth more tiny knives in their wake.

Her chest heaved with each ragged breath she drew in and forced out.

“Hurts,” she whimpered. The only word that she could manage in her current state. She should have been afraid, knowing Jay and so many others could see her scales, but the pain of them was so intense her brain refused to process anything else.

“I know,” he murmured, tone and touch soft as he replaced his hands against her shoulders. The stabbing ache was duller there, fewer scales meant quicker transformation. “What can I do to help?”

“True love’s kiss won’t defeat this.”

Uma’s voice echoed through the still air. The Auradonian’s on the ship too stunned by whatever they were looking at.

Syrena hissed, her bracelet burning her skin through the lace of her glove, adding to her over-sensitive body.

The crack of a whip through the sky drew the pair’s eyes up in time to see a giant tentacle receding back to the sea, and Syrena’s body went numb.

It wasn’t possible.

There was no way that Uma could be cecaelia…

“Help me up,” the redhead snapped at Jay. He didn’t hesitate, arm securing around her waist as he pulled both of them back to their feet. Syrena cried out against the first steps. Each one felt like she was walking across a bed of hot knives. Her body wanted to collapse against the pain of it.

Jay didn’t let her fall, and she couldn’t express her gratitude to him as he led them to their friends at the rail of the ship.

“The world will know my name!” Uma declared, arms outstretched at her sides and aqua tentacles twisting and shifting at the surface of the dark water.

Syrena couldn’t fathom the sight before her. Terrifying as it was, Syrena couldn’t help feeling a kinship with Uma now. They were not the same, but there was a similarity between them.

Another tentacle snapped through the air overhead. Jay jerked Syrena down by the waist as screams filled the air. A second lash followed close behind and the ship rocked unsteadily against the pounding waves.

Partygoers struggled to remain on their feet. The mass of bodies swaying and falling against one another with each churn.

“Rena, you’re bleeding.”

Jay seemed almost shocked by the realization as he steadied them both. Syrena’s eyes drifted down. Red tinged her lace fingerless gloves and the bodice of her dress. The light-colored fabric absorbing the dark crimson easily. The water drenched material making the stain grow and spread further.

“It’s okay. It’ll stop,” she murmured distantly. Her preoccupied mind was unaffected by the ruined dress. The pain had stopped mostly, or maybe she was just numb to it now. It could be a little of both, she supposed. The wet dress clinging to her skin and her still sopping hair was probably keeping most of the scales damp enough that the skin wouldn’t try to heal around them. Most of the blood was probably from their initial protruding.

Her eyes returned to Uma.

The girl was laughing, hands on her waist in a cocky, daring pose that taunted the ship's occupants.

Taunted Mal.

Mal!

Syrena’s gaze tore from the cecaelia girl to search the deck for her orchid haired friend. They had been standing next to one another before the water vortex exploded, but now, halfway across the ship where Mal paced and shook and sucked in air like her lungs were rejecting the very notion, they seemed miles apart. Even at this distance, Syrena could see her friend’s tenuous grip of control slipping. She could see her eyes flicker from the pale gray of dove wings to the terrible acidic green of her mother’s.

In the dark water of Auradon Bay, Uma preened at the success she’d managed. Her wide, toothy grin was full of pride and malice and the thrill of a win. Her arms outstretched again, fingers curling in a come-hither motion as she goaded Mal into a fight that would mean a quick loss for the girl who couldn’t swim.

Mal’s body practically vibrated with each ragged breath that tore through her. Her lips trembled. Her eyes ceased their chaotic flickering between two colors, settling on the electrifying green.

“What’s wrong with her?” someone whispered. Syrena couldn’t see who it was, didn’t really care even though she shared the sentiment. Jay’s grip on her tightened, his concern for his friend clear.

“Mal?” Ben called the orchid haired girl. She didn’t respond, her forceful breathing and violent shaking leaving her with little ability to do anything but pant and stare fearfully into the crowd.

The transformation came. Suddenly and with a thick cloud of swirling violet smoke and flames. The plume engulfed the panic-stricken girl and left in her place an enormous amethyst dragon with acid green eyes.

The crowd of onlookers screamed and backed away, terror-filled, as their future queen took to the sky with a shriek.

Uma’s laughter didn’t cease, manic now, as she too watched the beast hover, unbalanced and unsure in the starlit sky.

“What the…”

“Did you know she could do that?” Syrena interrupted Jay’s vocalization of both their thoughts.

“I don’t know that she knew she could do that…”

The dragon-Mal blew a giant ball of fire at the cecaelia, silencing her mirth even as she missed her target by mere centimeters. Rage took the place of Uma’s fulsome jollity, and she used that fury to counter the vicious heat with a lash of one wicked tentacle.

“Come on, Mal!” she screeched. “Let’s finish this once and for all!”

Dragon-Mal swooped down, unleashing a line of fire that scorched the water’s surface and any part of tentacle floating there. Uma dodged the attack narrowly, returning the attack with another lash. Syrena gasped, clutching at Jay’s hand as the thick muscle caught Mal across the snout, forcing the hulking beast off course and towards the ship.

She was quick to redirect herself, gliding over the Auradonians to return to her opponent.

Another ball of fire had Uma diving under the water to avoid becoming fried calamari. When she surfaced again, she brought with her another tidal wave that crashed against the ship. Water sprayed over the rail, but Jay’s quick reflexes pulled Syrena out of the way before any droplets could hit her. The hull rocked against the ferocity of the waves, sending the occupants once again reeling for balance against the slippery deck.

Syrena caught Evie as the navy haired girl stumbled back. Their combined weight in tandem with the tilting ship left them to slide across the polished wood floor, their heels unable to keep traction in the several inches of water standing on the deck.

Jay tried to support them, but when their king collided with him, nearly sending them both to the ground, it distracted him. Carlos was their savior, catching first Jay and then Ben with the ex-thief’s help.

Ben was the first to regain his balance, desperate to return to the rail where he could bear witness to the battle his girlfriend and Uma were waging.

The pair stared one another down. Mal’s jowls parting for another echoing screech of defiance and challenge. Uma’s tentacles rose in preparation, ready to strike or defend depending on Mal’s next move.

Before anyone could make a move, the young king threw back his head and roared his frustration and upset to the sky. The sound reverberated through the crowd of former partygoers, leaving them too stunned to react as Ben marched towards them.

He thrust his crown into Carlos’s hands, much to the white-haired boy’s confusion. He shucked his jacket next, pulling it free from the damp tangle of long sleeves beneath with Jay’s help. Thunder crashed through the sky, emphasizing Ben’s determined walk back to the railing.

“Ben!” Syrena called after him.

As the king flung himself over the metal barrier, diving into the tumultuous water below, Carlos’s shocked cry chorused her call.

“Wait, Ben! No!”

As one, they converged against the railing they’d just watched their king disappear over, everyone shouting his name hopelessly. Syrena clutched at Evie and Jay as she joined the useless calls.

She felt nothing as the circular spray of water denoting Ben’s foolish escape diminished.

Her scales no longer hurt. Her body’s shaking against the freezing water clinging to her dress and hair ceased. Even her bracelet’s burn disappeared.

She was numb to it all as she waited for the inevitable, detrimental end she would witness. There was nothing left for her to do but watch this moment unfold. To stand and wait for this tragedy to play out.

“Mal, Uma!” Ben called as he surfaced, positioned in the center of their battlefield. The perfect target for a miscalculated fireball, or a poorly aimed tentacle whip.

But neither girl made a move to attack.

The ship watched, anxious anticipation covering the onlookers like a shroud.

“Stop! Back down!” The king commanded.

Uma’s mocking cackle rang out. Her aqua tentacles shifting and twisting through the water like eight giant snakes curling through the waves.

“What are you gonna do, Ben?” She taunted, “splash me?”

Her hands flicked through the water, sending another spray over Ben for prominence.

Dragon-Mal sank lower, belly nearly brushed by the waves, to hover protectively behind Ben. Her razor teeth glinted menacingly in the light of the full moon. Her acid green eyes narrowed in warning.

Ben ignored her. Instead, he kept his gaze locked with Uma’s. The desperation he felt clear in the fraught look that contorted his usually jovial face.

“That’s enough!” he cried. “It’s got to stop! This isn’t the answer!”

He turned to face Mal then, addressing her with the same disparaging look.

“The fighting has got to stop! Nobody wins this way! We have to listen and respect each other. It won’t be easy, but let’s be brave enough to try.

“Uma, I know you want what is best for the Isle. Help me make a difference.”

His beseeching speech spoke volumes of the King that Ben hoped to be. Better than his father in that he cared for all his people, those in Auradon and those on the Isle. Better than his father in that he wanted to listen to the council others offered, instead of assuming he knew best in all matters.

As she listened to him speak, Syrena’s gaze shifted uneasily between the dragon and the cecaelia.

It was unclear if the king’s words were affecting the rivals, but they were no longer trading deadly blows, and she counted that as a small win for the king.

Uma’s necklace still shone bright with the ethereal white light. Syrena took a moment to refocus her attention on her bracelet, eager to feel any sign of Uma’s perilous emotions so she might warn Ben if the villain girl lashed out. But the once frantic hummingbird like heartbeat slowed now. The forceful pulses more from the strain of wearing a form unfamiliar than from earlier rage. The electricity that had been sizzling through her veins was weakening too, she no longer felt the sparks zipping to her fingertips.

Syrena looked back to the aqua girl, searching her face. The pout of her lips and the heated glare she was giving Mal denoted a different anger. But the expression was quick to shift to one of wounded pride and resolution.

Syrena leaned further over the railing, hoping to better discern the thoughts moving through Uma’s mind.

The thin point of one aqua tentacle poked out of the water, slow and hesitant.

Mal glided closer, hissing warningly over Ben’s shoulder, but Uma ignored her. The colorful muscle moved through the water easily, the curled tip unfurling above Ben’s outstretched hand to even as the dragon continued to spit and screech her disapproval.

In the darkness, it was hard to see what fell from the suckered appendage, but the dull glint of gold in the dim light of the full moon could only be one precious item.

A gilded flag of surrender in the form of the Beast crest ring.

A stunned silence fell over the bay, broken only by Jay, Carlos and Doug moving swiftly to lower the rescue ladder to retrieve the king.

In the shock, it was easy for Syrena to slip away. Moving along the length of the ship, she watched Uma slink away, sinking into the black depths with only one resigned look over her shoulder at Ben as he swam through the freezing water back to the safety of his ship.

She felt the burn of her bracelet ease against her wrist. The magical threat gone. But the uncomfortable heat didn’t disappear, not completely as Syrena felt the ache in her chest.

Her fingers rubbed against her sternum, a hopeless attempt to ease the pain. She wasn’t even sure why she felt it, but her gaze remained locked on the spot where Uma had disappeared, and she knew the burn in her heart was sadness.

Sympathy.

Ben was right, Uma was a desperate girl with a bad plan who was trying to do what she thought was right for her home and her people. She hadn’t gone about it the correct way, but neither had Mal at first. Her actions weren’t justifiable, but they had forgiven the same acts when committed by Mal and the others. Instead, Uma once more trapped in a prison, unwilling to submit to Ben’s terms and the shame of defeat and unable to return to her Isle and her family of pirates. Left to wander the ocean, alone and unprepared for this new life.

The thought of being left to that kind of cruel fate brought tears to Syrena’s eyes.

Didn’t Uma deserve the same second chance the Core Four had received?

Didn’t everyone on the Isle?

Cheers and applause drew her attention from the dark and stilling water. Syrena turned to see Ben surrounded by his friends and his people and moved to join the exuberant mob. The applause followed him across the deck as he replaced his crown and accepted the multitude of congratulatory pats on the back and praise.

It wasn’t until another screeching roar rang through the starlit sky that they were reminded of the dragon.

Mal glided through the air easily, rising over the deck to angle her back legs towards the ground so she could lower herself gently and crushing none of her future citizens.

The crowd watched in awe as the hulking frame sank into a spiral of violet smoke that cleared to reveal Mal, once more in her human form.

Her dress had changed from the royal blue and yellow that Evie had designed to one that was a mirror image of her stained-glass depiction, with one minor difference that made Syrena, Ben and their friends chuckle as the orchid haired girl patted and blew at the little flickers of fire creeping up the bodice of her dress.

When she was certain she was no longer inflamed, Mal turned her attention to Ben with a wide, beaming smile. Her hand waved, a small almost awkward gesture before she remembered herself. With a fist full of tulle in each hand, Mal lifted her gown and lowered herself into a deep curtsey.

Syrena smiled as Ben made a show of bowing back before throwing decorum overboard.

Evie caught Syrena’s arm, giggling as she dragged the redhead to meet Mal at the foot of the stairs.

More cheers and applause rang out as the newly instated Lady of the Court descended the raised platform.

“Whoo!” Mal sighed once she was the three girls were standing together. They faced away from one another, eyes scanning the crowd, but there was no mistaking they were all engaged in this conversation.

“So, I did not know that I could do that,” Mal informed them with another deep exhale.

Syrena chuckled, taking a quick peek to the side to see Evie’s face pinch at the confession.

“Tell me about it. That makes two of us.”

“Three,” Syrena added, raising her hand into the air a little. “It’s nice to have someone else with a dual form around though.”

She held out her still scaled arm, for once free of blood and pain as the constant and steady drips of water falling from her hair, free from its tight updo to hang in thick curls that clung to her skin, kept the iridescent shards perfectly damp.

“Whoa!” Mal breathed, turning to grasp at the offered appendage for examination.

Having never seen Syrena’s scales before and after just shifting into a giant dragon, she was more curious than ever.

“Oh,” Evie and Syrena gasped, their eyes honed on the sizzling little spark trying to ignite on Mal’s waist.

The navy haired girl was quick to react, leaning down to blow the tiny spark away as Mal and Syrena giggled.

The trio was quick to sober, remembering the crowd watching them.

Evie offered a gloved hand to the new Lady, and Syrena was quick to mimic her at Mal’s other side.

“Shall we?” The navy haired girl asked seriously.

“We shall,” Mal nodded, placing her hands in each of her friends’. They moved as one to join the rest of their group, releasing Mal once they got close enough to return her to Ben.

“Hi,” Mal breathed, her glorious, beaming smile never wavering until Ben tugged her forward into a sweet and ardent kiss.

Syrena and Evie shared knowing grins as the surrounding crowd gasped and laughed joyfully at the couple.

“All right, all right,” Carlos chastised with an amused smirk. His leather-gloved hand tugged gently at Ben’s shoulder, urging the king away from the orchid haired girl.

They shared another chuckle at the white-haired boy’s brotherly protection. The couple parted, gazes still locked and smiles bright. For just a moment, they were the only people in the world, and Syrena felt lucky to be a witness to the pair’s true love.

“I owe you guys so much,” Ben told them, finally returning his attention to the surrounding group.

“Yeah,” Evie agreed.

“You got that right,” Carlos added with a grin.

“Just a little,” Syrena finished, holding two fingers up, pinching them together for emphasis.

“If there is anything that you need, or anything I can do for you…”

The young king didn’t even get to finish his offer before Evie stepped up, one finger raised to garner the boy’s attention.

“Um, actually, there is, Ben.”

Syrena and Mal placed comforting, supportive hands on the navy haired girl’s shoulder as she gazed out at the smog covered Isle in the distance.

“I know a girl who would really love to come to Auradon.”

They all followed her gaze for a moment and Syrena smiled sadly as thoughts of the dirty, hungry little kids she’d seen crawling out of crumbling lean-to’s and resorting to theft just to survive another dreary day returned to her.

“It’s Drizella’s daughter, Dizzy. She’s like a little sister to me.”

“Then she should come,” Ben nodded without hesitation.

Syrena’s arm slid around Evie’s thin waist, squeezing gently as joy welled in her. Excitement to see Dizzy again, to introduce the little girl to ice cream and walk-in closets and all the other wonderful things Auradon offered.

Evie’s melted chocolate eyes glittered with happy tears and the huge, toothy grin on her ruby lips was nothing short of blinding in its brightness. She quickly replaced the smile with a determined, pursed face as she raised her hand again.

“Actually, um…”

Laughter erupted at the sudden change, Syrena and Mal removed their comforting hands as their friend stepped closer to the king and the pair held the no longer needed appendages up in mock surrender.

“Ben, there are a lot of kids who would really love it here in Auradon.”

The giggling died at the sudden seriousness in the navy haired girl’s voice. There were no whispers or murmurs as everyone listened intently to what she had to say.

“Kids just like us, who also deserve a second chance. Can I maybe get you a list?”

“Yes, yes!” Ben replied again with absolutely no hesitation in his tone. “Absolutely, please.”

Cheers and applause erupted around them, and the blinding smile was back on Evie’s apple red lips.

“Um, Evie?” Syrena called over the noise, drawing the attention of those closest to her. “I’d like to help with that. After everything I saw on the Isle and meeting Dizzy, I want to be a part of the change in Auradon. I want to help them.”

It didn’t seem possible, but Evie’s grin widened even more. She grabbed Syrena’s hand, lacing their fingers together and giving a soft squeeze.

“I’d love that.”

“Good,” Syrena breathed, relieved. “Because I’ve already drafted a new proclamation to make it happen. I was planning to email it to Ben after cotillion…” she giggled nervously but the smiles on the faces of her friends around her were enough to ease any lingering hesitations she had to her plan.

The applause continued while Syrena shared hugs with Evie, Ben, and Mal. She was so excited, ready to get to work on their new initiative and already thinking out ways to better the draft sitting in her email.

“M’lady Mal,” a guard greeted, stepping between the group with a swift bow. “We found your spellbook below deck.”

He held out the small, leather-bound journal to Mal reverently.

“Uma had it.”

“Ooh,” the orchid haired girl breathed, taking the offered book delicately. “Um… you know, this seems like the kind of thing that belongs in the hands of Fairy Godmother. Fairy Godmother?” She called.

The small headmistress was quick to push through the crowd, nudging the guard out of the way with a firm but gentle push.

“That’s me, thank you.”

“This belongs in the museum,” Mal told her, holding the book out with an almost relieved grin.

“It does, yes, and I’m gonna take it.”

“Go for it,” Mal chuckled. “I’m not gonna be needing it anymore.”

The reassured smile that lit Ben’s face radiated around the group. Syrena leaned against Evie with a soft sigh, feeling a weight leave her at the final confirmation of Mal’s commitment to stay in Auradon and rule at Ben’s side.

The sudden splash of water that the orchid haired lady sent towards the king startled the serene moment. The crowd gasped, even as Mal giggled childishly. A returned attack from Ben washed the taunting smile splitting her face and she shrieked girlishly as the cold water struck her.

Syrena felt Evie tug her back out of the line of fire, but the redhead stayed firm.

“It’s… okay E, I’m not afraid anymore.”

The concern on her friend’s face was touching and Syrena smiled reassuringly, before swiping her foot through the water to send her own wave at the navy haired girl.

Melted chocolate eyes narrowed, her nose pinching. She made an I’m-watching-you motion with her fingers and Syrena giggled, twirling away from her indignant friend with another spray of water.

The crowd dispersed, guards and attendants were producing towels, and everyone was quick to take the offerings to fend off the chill that was settling over them. Syrena was among them, hand curling around the heavy curls of her red hair to hold the still soaking tresses away from her skin when she realized she was missing her hair comb.

Panic flared within her. She spun back frantically, scanning the area she’d come from, hoping to see the glimmer of emerald somewhere on the deck.

How could she have been so careless with her gift? When had she lost it?

Despair clenched at her heart at the loss. She felt her lip tremble and bit it roughly to hold back her tears.

“Looking for something?”

She turned to face Jay, ready to smile and pretend everything was okay when she came face to face with the cockily grinning boy holding the emerald and starfish decorated comb in one calloused hand.

“Where… how?”

“I found it when everyone started walking away. It probably came out when the first wave hit us.”

He stepped forward, holding the comb out hesitantly, and then slipped it into the thick red curls. She smiled when it fell, and he tried to catch it and twist it back into place to no avail.

“I have no idea how to work this,” he chuckled awkwardly, slipping the comb back from her hair and holding it out like an offering.

She tittered back, taking the little decoration and flipping it into his hand the correct direction and guiding him through the proper motions to pin her wayward curls back.

“There. Easy, see?” she smiled at him when the comb remained in place, even after they removed their hands.

Jay huffed another laugh, nodding.

“Um… how are you feeling?” he asked after a beat of silence. His hand gestured vaguely towards the lightened red stains along the bodice of her dress.

“I’m okay. They don’t hurt right now.” She flicked out her foot gently, swirling the large puddle of water coating the deck. “The water helps.”

“Good. That’s good.”

Syrena smiled softly, glancing down at the glittering golden toe of her heel peeking out from under her dress. People moved around them, chattering and laughing, but she and Jay remained in comfortable silence.

There was something comforting about the boy’s presence. It made her feel safe and calm, even though the ex-thief was typically anything but.

On the Isle, he’d guarded and shielded her as much as he could from the harshness of his world. He’d rescued her from Harry, when they’d had to fight their way off Uma’s pirate ship. He’d protected her against Uma’s attack and had been at her side, ready to help as her scales had torn through her.

And he always found her when she was feeling alone, offering a joke or a smile to remind her she wasn’t.

“Jay?” her voice was soft, almost too quiet, and she was afraid that maybe he wouldn’t be able to hear her.

“Yeah?”

Her smile grew as she looked up to meet his eyes.

“Thank you.”

“No problem,” He grinned proudly, “I figured since Dizzy made it for you, you’d want it back.”

Syrena shook her head, touching her fingers to the starfish on her comb reverently before returning her attention to him.

“I did. But I didn’t mean just for that. I meant for everything. You’re always there for me, whether it’s catching me before I fall off a run-down rail trying to do some VK stunt or saving me from a manic pirate with a complex.”

They shared a laugh at the expense of the hook toting boy before she continued.

“I just… I want you to know that it… you mean a lot to me. You all do. So, thank you.”

The hug she gave him was tentative at first. In her heels, she almost stood level with him, so she could drape her arms over his shoulders and pull him closer. She intended to be quick with the affectionate gesture, uncertain if it would make Jay uncomfortable or not. But when he wrapped his arms around her in return, squeezing tight, she wasn’t as willing to let go.

“You’re one of us now, ya know. Cause you mean a lot to us too. You and Ben. And Jane and Lonnie now, too,” he chuckled.

Syrena felt it vibrate through her as much as she felt the warmth of his words, and she tightened her grip on him once more before they parted.

“There you are!”

Evie’s exaggerated sigh of relief drew Jay and Syrena’s attention to the flustered looking girl.

“Her, right?” Jay asked, pointing at the redhead quickly. “‘Cause I didn’t do anything.”

Syrena rolled her eyes with a giggle. How quick he was to throw her under the bus. She guessed she really must be one of them, since he did the same with Carlos frequently.

“Rena, come on, I want to fix your dress before the party starts up again.”

She started as the navy haired girl linked their arms together and dragged her off towards the staircase where the bathrooms were.

“What’s wrong with my dress?”

Evie’s sly smile instead of an answer had Syrena looking nervously back over their shoulders, but her savior ex-thief had already disappeared into the crowd, leaving her on her own with the suspicious-looking fashionista.

-

By the time Evie, Mal and Syrena had returned from the bathroom, the guards and decorating committee had returned the ship to the enchanting visage it was before Uma’s attack.

The refreshments table were back together, the punch and food refilled and the items that had fallen during Uma’s attack cleaned up. The DJ booths were back in their proper places, the electronics dried and, thankfully, functioning properly. Everything looked just as beautiful as it had when they’d all first boarded the ship, with only one major change.

Syrena felt an unexpected giddiness swell within her as she looked over the still flooded deck. The water shined and glittered with the reflection of decorative lights strung through the air, looking magical and serene as it rippled with the gentle swaying of the boat.

The attendees stood around the raised stage, smiling up at the king and his lady, silent and waiting for Ben to address them.

Syrena stood with them, next to Jay and Lonnie. Evie and Doug were nearby, adorably close with their hands intertwined and Doug’s arm draped gently against her shoulder.

Evie had told Syrena and Mal in the bathroom that her disappearance had upset her boyfriend, thinking she was spending her time with another boy. It was clear in their current closeness that Evie had dispelled the ridiculously dopey insecurity, but he still wasn’t risking letting her go again.

On their other side, Carlos and Jane stood similarly. The white-haired boy’s hands were resting over Jane’s shoulders and she had her hands cupped over his, her fingers curled around his sweetly.

Syrena was gladdened to see her friends so happy. Mal and Ben’s confessions of love had inspired the other Auradonian couples. The vision of True Love draped over the crowd. A gossamer veil that made everything seem that much more perfect.

Uma’s attack was, for the moment, forgotten. Replaced with this unspoiled serenity. Tomorrow, the search for the wayward villainess would begin. But tonight had returned them.

To Mal and her new title.

To Ben and the new era, dawning with his reign.

And to the youth of Auradon who would help to bring about the changes in their kingdom.

“Looking back at yesterday, I thought I gave it everything. But still there's so much road ahead of me,” Ben began. His tone was a gentle serenade accompanied by the sweet keys of a piano. The sound was calm and soothing, bringing bright, soft smiles to the surrounding faces.

“When I looked into your eyes, I guess I didn't recognize who we are and all that we can be,” Mal joined in. Her voice was hypnotic, soft as a summer breeze but firm and commanding of attention.

Sometimes it's hard to find yourself  
But it's worth it in the end  
'Cause in your heart is where it all begins

The crowd moved as one, joining into the song as they went. The students of Auradon Prep spun through the water, a swirl of tulle, lace and suit tails, to make four lines that bowed to the king and his lady in unison.

Syrena stepped out of the way, the odd one out without a partner as Lonnie lined up with Jay. Her escape quickly thwarted as the ex-thief grabbed her hand to pull her back to stand between him and Jane.

The redhead glanced quickly to Lonnie, uncertain if the other girl would mind her intrusion. The warrior daughter only grinned back at her, her face alight with an infection amount of joy. Syrena smiled back and readied herself for what was to come.

We gotta be bold  
We gotta be brave  
We gotta be free

Mal leapt off the platform, kicking water into the crowd. She twirled down the center aisle, spraying people as she went. Syrena squealed and giggled as the cool liquid hit her newly exposed sides, hydrating the myriad of scales covering her skin in place of the lace that Evie had cut away in the bathroom.

The crowd joined her, stomping and kicking at the water until the reflection of lights were nothing but glittering dots and rippling lines.

Syrena had never imagined that she would feel so at ease, that she would laugh so freely, with her scales exposed to the world. But, as she twirled and struck at the water, allowing herself to be doused, she couldn’t fathom feeling anything less.

  
We gotta get loud  
Making that change  
You gotta believe (whoa)  
We'll look deep inside  
And we'll rise up and shine  
We can be bold  
We can be brave  
Let everyone see  
It starts with you and me (whoa, whoa, hey)  
It starts with you and me (whoa, whoa, hey)  
It starts with you and me

The night exploded with swirling color and beaming faces as the teens delighted in childish fun dancing in the water provided.

There's something special that I've learned  
It's together we can change the world  
Everybody's got something that they can bring  
When you take a look inside yourself  
Do you wish that you were something else?  
But who you are is who you need to be

Syrena and Lonnie shared Jay as a partner. The trio moved easily together. Jay cockily displayed both girls on his arms, spinning them out and back with such precise movements that they left small spirals of water in their wake. His plan to attend the dance solo so he could dance openly with any girl was foiled, but he seemed content enough with his two “dates” that it didn’t matter.

When Jay left them to join the other VK’s, Syrena took Lonnie’s hand to continue dancing amid the fray. They drew Jane in with them, the three giggling and swiping water at one another playfully.

Sometimes it's hard to find yourself  
But it's worth it in the end  
'Cause in your heart is where it all begins

Syrena smiled as the Core Four rejoined them. The three girls separated, taking new partners from the group and dragging them back into the mass of drenched bodies with gleeful smiles.

We gotta be bold  
We gotta be brave  
We gotta be free  
We gotta get loud  
Making that change  
You gotta believe (whoa)  
We'll look deep inside  
And we'll rise up and shine  
We can be bold  
We can be brave  
Let everyone see  
It starts with you and me (whoa, whoa, hey)  
It starts with you and me (whoa, whoa, hey)  
It starts with you and me

In all the chaos of everyone dancing together amongst the shower of chilly water, Syrena didn’t see Evie and Mal coming towards her until they’d caught her. With one of each of their arms looped through hers, the pair dragged the redhead out of the fray and away to the foot of the stairs.

“We all can do a part, we know that it can be the start to bring about the difference that we need,” the trio sang together.

“I promise we can work this out,” Ben joined in, coming behind them on the small stage, followed by Carlos, Jane, Lonnie, and Jay.

“I promise we can see it through. Don't you know it's up to me, It's up to me and you!” Their group finished together. Their hands interlocked as a unified front to the future they harmonized about.

In a burst of energy, they ran forward across the cleared deck, hands still clasped together as they leapt through the water.

We gotta be bold  
We gotta be brave  
We gotta be free  
We gotta get loud  
Making that change  
You gotta believe (whoa)

A circle formed, couples taking turns in the center to dance and play.

Carlos and Jane go first. Jay followed their exit, flipping into the ring excitedly. Lonnie nudged Syrena, another open and inviting smile lighting up her face. Syrena returned the look, nodding before taking Lonnie’s hand and running into the center to join him, splashing water as they went.

Evie and Doug were next. The navy haired girl doing stunning pirouettes through the water before her being lifted to spin through the air by her boyfriend.

Mal and Ben were last, kicking water at each other playfully. Just as they were about to share another kiss, though, the circle closed in on them, sending a unified kick of their own to douse the adorable couple and each other.

  
We'll look deep inside  
And we'll rise up and shine  
We can be bold  
We can be brave  
Let everyone see  
It starts with you and me (whoa, whoa, hey)  
It starts with you and me (whoa, whoa, hey)  
It starts with you and me (whoa, whoa, hey)  
It starts with you and me (whoa, whoa, hey)  
It starts with you and me

At the finale of the song, the group, as one, gave another spin. Water pattered softly back to the deck, unheard over the sound of fireworks exploding overhead.

Evie led everyone in a courtly bow to the king and his lady, standing at the top of the stairs. Their royal waving met with cheers and applause once more.

Syrena’s emerald gaze drifted around the plethora of faces and she couldn’t help the soft, reverent grin that curled her lips as the merriment continued.

Absently, she toyed with the lifeless, cold golden bracelet at her wrist and let her mind wander. Tonight, a new chapter had begun for Mal and Ben. It would tell of the new age of Auradon, where a villain’s child would prepare to become the queen of the realm with her hero-son king.

But tomorrow, they’d start a whole new book.

It wouldn’t be easy. It was difficult to get people to accept great change. But, if anyone could accomplish such a great challenge, it would be her friends.

It was high time Auradon stopped looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.

One new VK at a time.


	12. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Still only own Syrena :)
> 
> Author's Note:
> 
> So this chapter is just kind of a sum up, pretty bow to end the story. It's really just filler, but it sets us up for D3 some. So I hope y'all aren't too disappointed that it's short and not a "real chapter".
> 
> If anyone is curious as to what Syrena's scales look like, you can find two links in the comments that I sent in response to StephLauren's curiosity.
> 
> Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me this far, I hope you all are ready for D3!
> 
> Happy Reading!  
> <3 <3 <3

“Do you think she’s gotten it yet?” Syrena asked from her place at the window of Ben’s office.

From the position of the castle, she could just barely see the Isle and the massive black cloud of smog hanging over the floating prison like a shroud. She wished she could be on the floating prison, wished that Ben had sent her and Evie with the courier to deliver Dizzy’s Auradon Prep invitation. But the young king hadn’t wanted to risk a run-in with any of Uma’s crew, so Syrena was forced to wait here until the guards and messenger returned with Dizzy’s answer.

Nervous energy sparked through her, lighting her fingertips with pale white bolts of electricity that snapped against the glass with each tap of her fingers.

“You’ll crack another window if you keep that up,” Evie chided, tone a singsong. She found Syrena’s newfound abilities increasingly amusing with each discovery they made.

The redhead’s fingers froze mid tap, her hand curling into a fist to cool the tiny bolts as she moved across the room to join her friend’s.

Ben and Evie were reviewing her latest draft for the VK Day applications. They would send the documents out to every child of school age on the Isle and would give them the opportunity to submit their request to come to Auradon Prep.

They’d wanted to keep the form simple since most of the children on the Isle had limited access to formal education. This draft, in Syrena’s opinion, was the best one. Asking only for their name, age and date of birth, heritage and then a brief description of themselves and their reason for wanting to come to Auradon, it was as simple as it could be.

Syrena moved to stand behind Evie, reading the notes they’d scribbled in the margins of the page absently. Ben glanced up at her just in time to see the coy smile stretch across her reddened lips a millisecond before she tapped the navy haired girl in the side with one shocking finger.

Evie squeaked, jumping away from the gentle charge.

“Quit doing that! I’m gonna kill Jay and Carlos for teaching you how to do that!”

Syrena giggled, nearly doubled over at the hilarity she found in her friend’s scornful, pouting face.

Even Ben had to choke back a laugh.

Evie rolled her eyes at the pair, a smirk curling her apple red lips.

“I will get you back for this eventually, just remember who sews your gowns.”

Syrena’s laughter died instantly.

“You wouldn’t do anything to risk your own designs,” she surmised, eyes narrowed.

The delicate shrug of Evie’s shoulder as she returned to editing the application was nonchalant enough to give Syrena pause that she’d called her friend’s bluff.

“Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn’t. Do you really wanna risk it?”

Syrena narrowed her eyes at her navy haired friend, gauging her expression, searching for the sham. With a resigned sigh, the redhead took a deep breath, eyes slipping shut, calming the kinetic energy snapping through her until the minuscule sparks died away.

Once she was sure she had her power “turned off”, she let her eyes open to meet Evie’s chocolate brown glare.

“Better?” she sassed, wriggling manicured fingers in her friend’s direction.

“Better,” Evie nodded with a smirk. “Do you wanna come and look at the new building now?”

Syrena nodded excitedly, stepping closer to Ben’s desk to peer down at the digital model of the Isle displayed on the king’s computer screen. Carlos had designed the program for them with the ability to run scenarios and tests to ensure any remodeling done would be to the benefit of the Isle.

They were currently working on the refuge for VK’s with bad home lives or no homes at all. There was a mostly abandoned warehouse in the market, still in good shape compared to others in the area, and they were working on gathering the supplies and permits needed for the renovation.

They would call it Carlos’ House, after the boy who’d given them the idea, and Syrena couldn’t be happier with the progress they’d made with the concept in such a short amount of time.

“That looks great!” the redhead praised, patting Ben on the shoulder. Her gaze tracked the screen as the virtual rendering took them inside the warehouse to show rows of bunk beds, each one made up with warm blankets and fluffy pillows. There would be a lounge area, with couches and chairs and a small kitchenette, restocked bi-weekly with supplies sent on the barges specifically for the haven.

They’d also lifted the embargo Beast had instilled and reconfigured the resources they would send over. No more cast-off clothing and old food. The Isle of the Lost would receive items in pristine condition if they weren’t brand new. And their food supplies would be abundant and evenly distributed amongst the residents.

No more starving children in worn and torn clothes living in roughly made lean-tos.

And these plans were just the beginning. The Core Four were working diligently to help remake the Isle into a better, safer place for its inhabitants until they could bring all the VK’s to Auradon.

“The application looks good too,” Evie added, slipping the printout across the table for Syrena to see. The notes in the margins were minimal. She was sure she’d be able to get it fixed up that evening so they could start getting them sent to the Isle in time for the new school semester.

"There’s just a couple things, like the heritage. I think it’d be easier to just ask for parents’ names. I think it’d be nice to add a question about their favorite classes too. Most VK’s attend one of the schools on the Isle, and attendance is pretty regular because it’s something to do. It may not be the same as it is here, but it’d be a good way to place them in classes they’d be more likely to enjoy when they transfer here.”

Syrena nodded, jotting her own notes in the margins as she listened to Evie.

“I like that. Make them feel more at home here if we add in classes that flow with what they’ve already been taking. We weren’t able to do that for you guys since we didn’t exactly ask if you wanted to come, so you got stuck with standard schedules until second semester.”

“Exactly!”

The pair giggled excitedly. Everything had gone pretty smoothly, even if they’d only been working on implementing these changes for a little under a month.

The chiming of high-pitched bells joined their laughter. Syrena plucked her phone from her back pocket and grinned.

"I’ve gotta go, Sword and Shield practice just let out, and Jay and Lonnie promised to give me another lesson after.”

“How’s that going?” Ben asked with a chuckle.

It had confused him when Syrena had announced she wanted to learn how to sword fight during dinner at Evie’s starter castle. But Jay and Lonnie were quick to offer to teach her, and she’d been diligently attending her lessons for the last two weeks.

“Jay still won’t let me near a blade since I, as he puts it, 'tried to fish-kabob myself’. But the wooden practice stick is fun. Lonnie says my form is getting better.”

“Have fun,” Evie waved, ruby lips curved up in a smile as the redhead grabbed up her bag and escaped from the office to head back to campus.

As she approached the glowing blue and gray welcome sign for Auradon Prep, Syrena slowed her jog to a stop, smiling at the shield.

A month had passed since Mal’s cotillion. Thirty days since Mal had run away from Auradon when the stress of becoming a Lady of the Court overwhelmed her and Syrena and Ben got their first look at the Isle up close. Syrena couldn’t believe all that had changed in what seemed like such a short amount of time, but here she was, leaving an Isle Restoration Project meeting on her way to sword fighting with Jay and Lonnie.

She dreamed nightly about what the future would hold for her home and her friends. Of what wonderful changes VK Day would bring with it once they got everything completed. By the time next semester started, everything would be different and Syrena couldn’t wait to be a part of the coming changes.

Because this wasn’t the end of the story, it was just the beginning.


End file.
